Teen Titans: Dangerous Waters
by MandoCommander
Summary: A few months after the events in Tokyo, the team is summoned to perform a civil service: attend Jump City's charity ball on a luxury ocean liner. Raven finds herself forced by circumstance into some unexpected closeness with a certain green teammate. Meanwhile, sinister forces plot in the shadows, and a new enemy reveals itself to the Teen Titans. Nothing will ever be the same.
1. Chapter 1: Civic Duty

Teen Titans: Dangerous Waters

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.**

**A/N: A new story, and depending on how it goes, the start of a new trilogy. This is my first attempt at a Teen Titans story, but it has been in the works for some time now admittedly. I look forward to developing this further, and hopefully garner a positive response from readers along the way. The main pairings are BBRae and RobStar, but others may show up as the trilogy progresses. The main plot for the planned trilogy is completed, but other details are still in the works. Now, without further adieu, let's begin!**

Chapter 1: Civic Duty

As she walked the familiar outer expanse of her mindscape, Raven couldn't help the uneasy, heavy feeling gnawing at her brain and sinking her heart.

She wasn't exactly sure why this was happening now. It wasn't like she hadn't blown up at Beast Boy before. It had almost been like a routine for them over the last few years. He annoys her, she snaps, he slumps away, she centers herself through meditation, and things go back to normal. This time, though, this time felt strangely and unsettlingly... different.

The demoness had elected to seek out her intellectual emoticlone for answers, hence her present location. She never could've anticipated what, or who, was waiting for her inside her Knowledge's domain. After Raven stepped through the archway that made up the portal into her mindscape's library, the familiar home of her Knowledge, what greeted her on the other side was a sight that instantly chilled her to her core.

He sat by himself on the leather chair in front of the fireplace, flanked by the tall rows of archived books on both sides. He didn't appear to acknowledge her presence, at least not at first, but the sorceress found at that moment she was understandably far more concerned, confused, and unnerved at his presence instead.

His white-sleeved arm and black-gloved hand held aloft a book he had apparently been reading while awaiting her arrival. He spoke the next row of dialogue on the open pages aloud, knowing full well she was listening.

"'Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door.' Quoth the raven, 'Nevermore.'"

The moment he finished reading aloud, he snapped the book shut and lowered it down. He turned his head and shifted his gaze over his shoulder, straight at her. Though his faceless mask obscured what lay behind it perfectly, Raven could feel his cold stare going right through her. She stifled a shudder as another chill ran down her spine. "There's something to be said for contemporary poetry, but the classics can never truly be surpassed. Wouldn't you agree, Miss Roth?"

"Who are you? How did you get in here?" she demanded once she trusted her voice enough to formulate a response.

She didn't know him, she had never seen him before in her life, and that made his presence in her mind all the more unsettling. She briefly considered the possibility that one of her emoticlones was playing some kind of prank on her, but that seemed even more far-fetched. If someone truly could find their way into her mindscape from the physical world without her even knowing it, they would have to possess a tremendous amount of power.

He stood, coming around to face her. It was only then that Raven got her first good look at him. The intruder was concealed from head to toe, making it impossible to distinguish anything about him beyond his sense of fashion just by appearances alone. Atop his head was a pitch black tricorne hat, the rim of which was fitted with a band layered in what appeared to be some combination of scanning and sensory equipment. The white mask that covered his head below the hat shrouded his facial features perfectly. Only small indentations for the eyes and nose were present. A long white duster coat enshrouded his tall form, almost reminding the empath of her cloak in a way. It was a set of matching dress shirt and pants that lay behind it, and a pair of tall, knee-high black boots were on his feet. A pair of black gloves covered his hands, and a matching utility belt lined with small silver boxes and what appeared to be a holstered pistol on his right hip. Finally, a ball-tipped black cane rested comfortably in his grip, decorated intricately with silver inlays.

"Who am I? Consider me a casual observer, one who has been watching your team with keen interest for some time now," his voice was calm, collected, and as-a-matter-of-fact in tone. His confidence only unnerved Raven further. "As for how I came to be here, that's quite simply really: I let myself in."

"Impossible," the half-demon countered, "My mirror was untouched in my room, right where I left it."

"Yes, I am aware of how your animorph and cybernetic teammates once stumbled their way into this realm entirely by chance. I, however, am not bound by such limitations. Know that I am here because I will it. It is no more and no less than that."

"Fine," Raven almost seethed, indignation starting to override her fear, "Why are you here, and where are my...?" she caught herself, hesitating in regards to how much to reveal. It was for naught.

"The manifestations of your emotions," the intruder finished for her. Her eyes went wide in response. Just how much did this guy know about her? What did he know about the rest of the team? "Truthfully, I have been wondering that myself. It would seem either they are as of yet unaware of my presence, or they are aware and have chosen to conceal themselves for whatever reason. Regardless, I did not come here for them, I am here for you, Miss Roth."

"I just asked you why you are here, and I am in no mood to do so again," the empath narrowed her eyes, staring the intruder down. She could sense his smug mirth, and it only served to upset her further. She couldn't tell whether his cordiality was genuine or an act, but she really didn't care either way.

"Yes, you did, didn't you? Fair enough," he conceded, "Answer a question for me, if you would: how long do you believe you can maintain your deception of your green teammate?"

"_Excuse me_?" Raven was incredulous, and becoming more and more indignant by the second. First this stranger breaks into her mindscape without her knowledge or permission, then he talks down to her face, and now he's asking for personal information about her and a teammate? What the absolute hell was with the nerve of this guy?

"Like you, I don't like to repeat myself," he warned, his tone shifting to one of seriousness.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she retorted, "I am not 'deceiving' Beast Boy. He pissed me off and I let him know it, same as always."

"Young Mr. Logan merely asked if you wanted to join him for pizza," the intruder stated simply. Raven chose to ignore the fact that he seemed to know all of their surnames, for now.

"And when I politely told him 'no,' he kept pestering me about it. Wait, why am I telling you this? I don't need to tell you anything," Raven glared at him, reminding herself this guy was still an unwelcome presence in what was supposed to be her private space.

"Do you recall what transpired the last time you denied your emotions? I certainly do," he recalled, the implication unnerving her once again.

"Get. Out," she told him, her eyes narrowing further. "_Now_!"

A moment of silence and stillness passed, one too long for Raven's liking.

"Very well, I can tell that you won't give me a straight answer. It makes little difference," and with that he turned to leave, walking past her toward the way she had come. She followed him with her gaze, wanting to be certain the moment he was gone. "We'll meet again, Miss Roth, soon enough."

* * *

"Okay, so you're _sure_ that's what happened?" Robin inquired further with the tower's resident empath.

"Yes, my memory hasn't changed in the last two minutes," Raven drolled in response, trying to resist the urge to roll her eyes.

It was only about half past eight o'clock in the morning, and the team leader had been grilling the half-demon regarding the unwelcome visitor to her mindscape for the last forty five minutes. Starfire had arrived about fifteen minutes into the pseudo-inquiry, and the three of them had been sitting on the sofa in the common room, Robin a fair distance away to the left and Raven on the right with the Tamaranean sitting in close proximity beside her, concern and worry clear in the latter's emerald green eyes. Raven had told the pair everything, excluding the intruder's inquiry about her relationship with Beast Boy. That particular detail, she had quickly decided, was best kept to herself, for a number of reasons.

"Sorry, I'm just trying to make sure I have a clear picture of what happened," the Boy Wonder amended, sighing as he did so.

"I know you are," the empath acknowledged, her gaze downcast. The alien girl placed a hand on her shoulder reassuringly. It was then that Cyborg walked in.

"I checked the security mainframe and ran a manual diagnostic on the system, twice. Nobody was in the tower last night aside from us, and nobody else was on the island, either" the half-man, half-machine confirmed grimly. The implications resonated with the rest of those present immediately.

"So, we have confirmation that this guy wasn't in close proximity when he infiltrated Raven's mind," Robin laced his fingers together in thought as he contemplated further.

"With Trigon gone, there shouldn't be anyone left who can access my mindscape without my mirror. Whoever this person is, he possesses a tremendous level of magical power," Raven deadpanned, "_Dark_ magical power," she emphasized, clearly still unnerved at the whole experience.

"As pressing as this matter is, we'll have to deal with it at another time. Our meeting at the mayor's office begins at eleven thirty," Robin reminded everyone present.

"Hey dudes, what'd I miss?"

The voice of the resident green, pointy-eared changeling was unmistakable. His voice was groggy as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, his dark green hair an unkempt mess of bedhead. He was clad in a loose long-sleeved sleepwear, comprised of a plain white shirt and orange pants. It was quite evident that he'd just left his bed, the last of the team to awaken as per usual.

Raven couldn't look at him, not right now, when a vortex of conflicting emotions was already surging within her. Unbeknownst to her, her refusal to acknowledge him along with the others caused a noticeable frown to form on his face, the memory of her outburst at him the previous evening fresh in his mind.

* * *

Over the last few years, Jump City had become best known for the familiar T-shaped tower that stood on an island near the center of the bay around which the city had been built. However, there was still something to be said for some of the structures within the city proper, including City Hall itself. It stood out in the old section of downtown, its prominent neo-classical architecture hard to miss. White marble columns and steps adorned the front entrance, and a large dome of the same substance towered over the rooftop. The outside walls of the building were made of bricks, and the wooden window frames were painted to match the marble steps and adornments. Excluding the dome, the building was three stories tall, a rather modest size compared to the towering modern high rises elsewhere downtown that dominated the city's skyline, including one currently in the later stages of construction.

It was within the largest office of the older building that Anwar Zaman had set about his work for the day when the phone on his desk rang to life. He wasted no time answering, glancing at a file folder that sat atop a stack of papers on the right side of his desk as he did so.

"Go ahead."

"Mr. Mayor, your eleven thirty appointment is here," a female voice chimed in through the speaker.

"Very good, thank you Mrs. Davis. Send them in."

"Will do, sir."

The recently-elected mayor of Jump City had a lot on his plate, especially considering the fact that the previous administration had been ousted abruptly admid a well-documented corruption scandal. Still, the son of first generation Arab-American immigrants was no stranger to hard work, and he knew full well what he signed up for. That said, he hoped this imminent meeting would lift some of the weight off.

And then, the wooden double doors to his office opened, and the iconic heroes that put his city on the map nationwide stood before him. He promptly stood to greet them, walking around his desk to approach them.

"Ah, the Teen Titans. Thank you for coming on such short notice," as he finished, Anwar extended his hand to the team's leader, who accepted it in a handshake after a brief pause.

"Your summons wasn't entirely unexpected," Robin stated simply, "We were invited to meet the last incoming administration here at City Hall."

"Yes, well, truthfully I wish this were just a matter of cordial introductions."

"Say what now?" Cyborg arched the brow over his remaining organic eye. To his left, Starfire looked puzzled, while to his right Beast boy looked around the room, clearly distracted. Raven merely folded her arms over her chest from where she stood beside the green animorph, her usual deadpan stare on display beneath her hood.

Robin remained silent as well, waiting for the mayor to continue. Zaman elaborated as he turned to walk back around his desk, his eyes never leaving the young superheroes.

"Titans, as you may know the fifty-sixth annual charity ball for Jump City is set to take place next week. In lieu of myself this year I would greatly appreciate it if the five of you could attend in my stead," the mayor returned to his chair as he spoke, carefully gauging their reaction. The predicted expressions of puzzlement didn't last long.

"No offense, Mr. Mayor," Robin began, skeptical, "but happy as we are to do things for the good of the city, I feel this may be out of my team's purview. We're not politicians or celebrities."

"Politicians, no. But celebrities? You can't can't honestly expect me to believe you and your team are unaware of your stardom. The five of you have made pretty strong names for yourselves over the last few years," Zaman countered.

"He does have a point there," Beast Boy chimed in with a grin, having refocused on the discussion at hand. Raven merely rolled her eyes.

"Fine, point taken, but this will be your first charity ball while in office as mayor," Robin offered his own counter point, undeterred, "Wouldn't it be better for you to go as you're supposed to?"

The question wasn't intended to seem like an insinuation, but now it was Zaman's turn to arch a brow.

"Robin..." Starfire moved to interject, but was cut off.

"No, no, it's a perfectly valid question," the mayor sighed as he conceded, "Very well, I can see your mentor taught you well, Robin. Honestly, I was hoping it wouldn't come to this..." Zaman shifted his gaze to the folder as he finished, and the team's leader followed it.

"Come to what, exactly?" Now it was Raven's turn to inquire. The mayor reached for the folder and moved it to the center of his desk, shifting it around so it stood right side up for the young crime fighters. He opened it slowly as he answered.

"I'll be honest with you, Titans: two days ago, the city council voted not to renew funding for you or your tower."

The silence and unease that followed this revelation was palpable, to say the least. Zaman leaned back in his chair, giving the five youths time to absorb the unwelcome news as they all stepped closer to look at the offending piece of bureaucratic parchment for themselves. Zaman's expression betrayed a sense of regret, and it became clear he didn't want to have to tell them. Still, Robin felt an explanation was due, and found he regained his voice first.

"So let me get this straight: you're telling me that after all we've done for this city and all the people living here over the years we've been here, this is how we're rewarded?!" he wasn't outright yelling, but his tone had become noticeably sharper and louder, tinged with indignance and sheer, frustrated outrage.

"Please, Robin, I know the people of Jump City continue to feel awed and inspired by you and your team, and have no shortage of gratitude" the mayor tried reasoning, "A slim majority on the city council simply believe that with the worst of the villains you've faced out of the picture, our police department is sufficient to handle more common and rudimentary crime, and the costs of funding your operations in the city year after year can no longer be justified."

"How slim of a majority are we talking here?" Cyborg inquired, frustration in his own voice.

"One vote," Zaman confessed, "Myself and Deputy Mayor Keehan both voted in your favor. The three commissioners are the ones who voted against, and just so we're clear you can't reach out to any of them on this yourselves," he added a bit more resolutely.

"Wait, what does this have to do with the sphere for charity?" Starfire asked, not quite seeing where the dots connected.

"Yeah, that was my next question as well, sort of," Raven added.

"Take another look at the bottom of the page, Titans," the mayor gestured to the paper still on display in the open folder.

The Titans all at once refocused on the parchment in question. This time, it was Beast Boy who spoke up.

"The line where people's names go is blank."

"Not quite how I would put it, but yes," Zaman quickly affirmed, "I have not signed the resolution as of this moment, but unless something changes, I will have to by Monday, next week."

"What 'something?'" Robin immediately arched his brow, skeptical.

The mayor took a moment to carefully gauge the five superheroes before continuing. He spoke clearly and concisely.

"I believe I can persuade the commissioners to change their minds, but I need time and a reason to do so, something that can convince them.

Your attendance at the ball, placing yourselves in a setting entirely for the benefit of the city on your own time, is precisely what we need for this to happen."

Another moment of silence passed as Robin glanced at each of his teammates one at a time, all of them sharing nods after a few seconds.

"Where is this year's charity ball?" the Boy Wonder inquired.

"The city council and the committee in charge of planning the festivities have booked this year's event in the ballroom of a luxury ocean liner, the MS Skyward. Beautiful ship. She's setting sail from New York City in two days for a five day voyage across the Atlantic to Liverpool in Britain," Zaman elaborated further.

"We have to spend five whole days in a confined space, surrounded by thousands of strangers?" Raven asked in her typically droll and unamused voice. Predictably, she wasn't a fan of the prospect of a voyage at sea.

"You would have your own private rooms on board the ship," Zaman clarified.

"I'm no tourist," the resident half-man, half-machine chimed in, "but cabins on luxury ocean liners don't come cheap."

"That's where I come in," an unfamiliar voice announced. The Titans turned to face the new arrival. He was a caucasian male who appeared to be in his mid-to-late thirties, dressed in a navy blue business suit with a white formal shirt, black formal shoes and matching tie. His brown hair was neatly trimmed in a scholarly style, and his eyes were deep blue in color. He regarded the mayor and superhero team with a light, gentle smile as he approached. "I do apologize for the intrusion, Mayor Zaman."

"No apology needed," the mayor assured, "Titans, allow me to introduce Mr. Clyde, the proprietor of the new high rise currently being built a couple blocks from here."

"Wait, hold up," Cyborg spoke up in an incredulous tone. "Clyde as in Edward Clyde?! Fortune Magazine's Billionaire of the Year?!" The rest of his team turned wide-eyed at the apparent revelation, confirmed a moment later.

"The one and only," Edward affirmed with a nod.

"Dude..." Beast Boy was in disbelief.

"Since when do you read Fortune Magazine?" Raven asked Cyborg. The latter chuckled slightly before answering.

"I don't; I was reading an article online about the high-speed lightrail his company is building across the country and it was mentioned there."

"So," Robin eyed the rich man, "how do you fit into all this, exactly?"

"Allow me," Zaman chimed back in, "The high rise Mr. Clyde is building in our city is to become the new regional headquarters for his company, Excelsior Global Industries. As part of the upcoming grand opening, he has made quite the generous contribution to this year's charity ball. Our local soup kitchen, youth center, senior center, the hospital, and the animal shelter have all received hefty donations from his private bank account."

"Oh, glorious! What a very kind thing to do!" Starfire beamed.

"Your praise is well received, your highness," Edward bowed graciously, evidently aware of her status as royalty. "However, this isn't about me. The five of you are the reason I'm here today," he gestured to the superhero team, "I've reserved a pair of executive suites aboard the Skyward for you all, complete with private staff from among the ship's crew. I have your tickets and boarding passes right here, in fact," he reached into his coat and promptly produced said items, and handed them to Robin who accepted them after a moment. "One of my private jets will fly the five of you out to New York, and I've also arranged transportation from the airport directly to the ship. Really, all you need do is just show up and participate in the festivities."

"Do this, and the commissioners will have to see the continued merits for hosting superheroes of your status," the mayor added. "The Deputy Mayor be hosting the event this year, and I'll provide you with his contact information should you have any questions once on board."

After another moment of silence, Robin finally spoke up again.

"I still have some issues with all this..." he turned to his teammates, "What do you guys think?"

"I say we do the going for it!" Starfire answered immediately.

"A free vacation? Dude, what is there to even think about?!" Beast Boy agreed just as quickly.

"I get where you're coming from, Robin," Cyborg empathized, "but we don't seem to have much of an option, and who knows? It could be fun!"

"Well... If it's what we have to do, then I accept," Raven stated with finality. Through the jubilance she sensed from three of her four other teammates, a faint sense of foreboding began to manifest within her.

**A/N: So that's Chapter 1. Preliminary work on Chapter 2 has begun, though my Star Wars Rebels series will be updated first. Please feel free top share your thoughts with me, as I value your feedback. Thank you for reading, and as always a special thanks to my beta reader, WikkedGrin, for his work in helping me finalize every chapter. **

**Until next time, everyone! **


	2. Chapter 2: The Skyward

Teen Titans: Dangerous Waters

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.**

**A/N: And mow we're back! Sorry for the delayed update. Between losing my old writing computer and a new schedule at work, things had gotten pretty hectic for a time. But enough about me! You have all waited long enough, so here it is. Enjoy!**

Chapter 2: The Skyward

The Chelsea Piers that jutted out from Manhattan on the Hudson River had a long history of hosting passenger ships from around the world. For over one hundred and sixty years they functioned in this capacity, with thousands of vessels coming and going and millions of people doing the same. It was grandiose ocean liners often described by the press as floating palaces that more often than not tied up their mooring lines to the piers, and such a sight occurred on a daily basis for all those years until the rise of air travel by jet airliners slowly but surely all but completely doomed their industry in the latter half of the twentieth century. But while no one could argue that air travel has become more convenient, a great many aficionados in tourism contend that travel by a well-constructed and adorned seagoing vessel is still far more relaxing and enjoyable.

The _MS Skyward_ was a worthy inheritor of this legacy. Towering around the size of a twenty two floor building which included sixteen passenger decks and extending to just over the distance of three football fields, she was roughly five times the size of the ill-fated _RMS Titanic_. She was without exaggeration one of the largest passenger ships ever constructed, and was the single largest to ever sail on the grand old transatlantic route between North America and Europe.

Her exterior consisted of a massive sleek hull painted in black with red below the waterline, a towering superstructure painted in white, and two striking smokestacks painted in a beige-gold hue. This color scheme was chosen specifically as to allow the _Skyward_, despite her modern design, to more closely resemble the old time classic ocean liners of the aforementioned era long since passed.

The interior of the vessel was also nothing to scoff at, featuring all the amenities one would expect at a luxury resort hotel on land. This included a grand atrium with a gilded staircase and elevators, six pools each lined with hot tubs and two with water slides, eight drinking establishments ranging from poolside bars to authentic pubs, ten restaurants ranging from burger joints and pizza parlors to a massive buffet and regal dining halls, an all-inclusive spa and gymnasium, a library, a casino, eight lounges and nightclubs, a high-resolution digital movie theatre, a live performance theatre for plays and musicals, ten different stores ranging from souvenir shops to luxury boutiques, an art gallery, a ballroom, a 360 degree view observation deck, and of course an emergency medical center.

In addition to all of the above, the _Skyward_ also featured more than enough lifeboats and life rafts to easily carry twice her allotment of passengers and crew. That said, thanks to top of the line safety features as well as advanced communications and navigation equipment, the risks posed to the ship were typically minimal.

It was on this grandiose behemoth that the Teen Titans would be spending the next five nights, the typical amount of time for a voyage between the United States and Great Britain these days. A private car from the airport had just dropped the team off at the piers, leaving them with an unobstructed view of the liner.

"Wooooooooooah," Beast Boy was in awe of the massive vessel, and who could blame him?

"Yes, its big and it floats. Your mind is blown, right?" Raven quipped with her trademark sarcasm, earning herself an annoyed glare from the green shapeshifter.

"Joy!" Starfire's eyes were practically sparkling. "I feel much of the enthusiasm!"

"I'm glad you're happy, Star," Robin told her sincerely, "I admit I'm still a bit skeptical, but- ah!" he was interrupted as his alien girlfriend pulled him into a crushing embrace.

"Oh, you would not be the you if you were not 'skeptical,'" she giggled, "But a vacation with my boyfriend and the dearest of friends? What more could I ask for?"

"All right, you two lovebirds," Cyborg chimed in with a grin at the spectacle, "We'd better get in line before this big boat leaves us behind."

* * *

About half an hour later, after going through the boring procedures of checking in and going through the necessary security screenings at the terminal on the pier alongside the ship, the team was welcomed aboard alongside the other passengers ascending the gangway that led to the entrance at the central atrium on Deck 4. A team of stewards had taken their suitcases to bring to their cabins for them, and after a short ride on the elevators, the five superheroes were led down a hallway on the starboard, or right side of Deck 10.

"Okay then, here we are, Centennial Deck, suites 10-58 and 10-59," the lead steward announced, opening the two doors one at a time before stepping back so his co-workers could carry the luggage inside. As they did so, he retrieved a piece of folded paper from inside a pocket on his jacket, and continued, "Let's see... ah, here we go. Robin, Starfire, and Cyborg are in 10-58, and Raven and Beast Boy are assigned to 10-59."

Silence.

The air in this particular section of the corridor suddenly became very still as the team leader, the alien princess, and the half-man/half-machine all at once shifted their focus to the dark sorceress.

Raven's violet eyes were wide, her mind clearly trying to come to terms with what was just told to her and the rest of the team. Disbelief soon gave way to irritation, rising steadily. As if things weren't bad enough for her already, being forced into a confined area surrounded by thousands of strangers broadcasting their emotions a short distance away, now this glorified bellhop was telling her she was going to have to _share_ a living space with the green shapeshifter who grated on her last nerves on a semi-daily basis, who was at the center of these conflicting feelings she still didn't recognize, and was _somehow_ connected to the unsettling visitation into her mindscape performed by that unnerving stranger.

For a brief moment, she glanced to the teammate in question on her left, who merely grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck while looking down at his feet nervously, his face flushed as he purposely avoided her piercing gaze. Raven promptly shifted her focus back to the lead steward and fixed a glare upon him. The poor man couldn't help but take step back and look over his shoulder in the direction of his co-workers.

"Um, no. No way. Absolutely not. I am _not_ sharing a room with _this _guy," she pointed her thumb over at Beast Boy as she enunciated. She hadn't meant to come off as harshly as she did, but her mind was abuzz with numerous thoughts colliding all at once, and the words left her lips before she could stop them. She missed his expression falling and his pointed ears dropping.

"It's actually four and a half rooms, plus a large balcony, and your suite is linked with that of your other friends," the lead steward tried reasoning with the half-demon.

"Friend Raven..." Starfire took a step forward in a vain attempt to diffuse the situation.

"That's _still_ unacceptable," Raven's tone was sharp and icy, her eyes narrowing further, "This trip is going to last four full days, right?"

"Five full days, actually," the crewman answered honestly, and bravely to his credit. A bead of sweat formed on the side of his face. His co-workers were aware of the situation at this point, and had elected to stay inside the suites.

"Hell. NO!" the dark sorceress blurted out harshly before she could stop herself. The immediate area around the group in the corridor seemed to vibrate faintly for a second, the wall sconces and accent tables shaking just slightly enough to make a rattling noise.

"What's going on, here?" a firm, masculine voice called the group's attention from off to the left further down the corridor. A man in a white ship's officer uniform accentuated with black and gold epaulets and an officer's cap quickened his pace, stepping between the lead steward and Raven.

"Mr. Nielson!" the former exclaimed, unable to hide the relief in his voice.

"Who?" Robin arched a brow as he inspected the new arrival.

"Third Officer Nielson. I'm with the bridge staff of this fine vessel," the man elaborated. "I was making my rounds when I heard the commotion. What seems to be the problem, here?"

"This young lady seems to have a problem with the sleeping arrangements," the lead steward gestured to Raven as he explained, careful to stay behind the officer while doing so.

"You're damn right I do," the half-demon shifted her glare to the other man, who quickly regarded her with an unamused expression. It only served to piss her off further.

"Is that so?" Nielson started, pausing for a moment in thought before continuing, "Well, miss, I have a few questions for you: do you have any special needs? Are you disabled? Any extenuating medical conditions? And, would staying in these quarters adversely impact any of those for you?"

Now it was Raven's turn to take a step back, her glare almost vanishing outright. She hadn't quite expected to be countered _that_ way. She hardened her gaze once more, but looked down to the floor before replying curtly, "No, not in the way you mean."

"Then there is no reason to rearrange anything. There are passengers who _do_ meet that criteria who need tending to, all while _you_ hold up these men here," the officer gestured towards the stewards as he dismissed the empath further. She said nothing in reply, merely kept her gaze scrunched up and downcast.

Robin took the opportunity to step in and shift focus, pulling some cash out of his pocket to tip the stewards with. The lead steward then handed Robin a small paper folder that held their suite's keycards in it. It wasn't long before he, his co-workers, and Nielson departed after that, leaving the team to their business.

"Man, that officer must have some brass balls," Cyborg mused aloud, "Or maybe they're just the ship's anchors."

Beast Boy let out a sharp cackle at that. Raven said nothing, but after shaking momentarily, she violently snatched a key card from Robin and stormed inside the suite he was assigned to, slamming the door behind her as the others stared wide-eyed.

"Uhhh... wanna hit the buffet, dude?" the green shapeshifter asked his cybernetic teammate after an awkward moment of silence, and was met with a prompt nod.

"Oh _yeeeah_, let's get this vacation started!" and with that the two boys were off.

"Boyfriend Robin, I am confused," Starfire scratched her head, "Why would the man in the important uniform have balls made of brass or the anchors of the ship in his personal possession?"

"That's not... I'll explain later Star. For now, let's look around inside and unpack," Robin told her with a smile before she followed him into their suite, her familiar enthusiastic expression returning.

"Oh yes! The next few days will be most enjoyable!"

* * *

About two hours later, once the last of the passengers were accounted for and the lifeboat drill was completed, the crew of the _Skyward_ made final preparations for the voyage. The gangways were retracted one by one as the exterior doors on decks 1 and 4 were sealed. The last briefcase filled with cash collected for the charity ball was placed in the ship's vault, which was locked immediately after.

On the bridge of the large and elegant liner, the ship's officers were all in attendance along with the harbor pilot, whose job it was to navigate the ship out of the Hudson River and into New York Sound before disembarking as the ship approached the open ocean. An older gentleman in a decorated officer's uniform with gold embroidery arrived at this time. He was a caucasian male who appeared to be in his mid-fifties, sporting grey hair and a thin mustache and beard.

"Captain VanRoojen on deck!" the First Officer exclaimed, prompting the others present to join him in salute.

"At ease, Mr. Murtaugh, everyone," the Captain nodded as he approached. He then turned to the Second and Third Officers, "Mr. Smith, Mr. Nielson, what's our status?"

"Headcount of the passengers and crew is complete, sir. Engineering reports all systems are a 'go,'" Smith informed his superior.

"All that remains are the docking lines," Nielson added.

"Are we ready to depart, then?" the Captain inquired with the pilot as he turned to face her. She nodded promptly.

"Yes, sir," she affirmed. VanRoojen returned the gesture then looked forward out and over the bow.

"Very well then. Cast off the lines and activate the engines and bow thrusters. Half full starboard, half reverse port on the stern, half port on the bow."

"Yes, Captain!" Murtaugh acknowledged, pressing a button on the control panel in front of him. After a couple minutes the red light beside it turned green, and he then pressed a couple more buttons and carefully moved the telemotors into the proper setting. He then did the same with a dial beside them.

Down below the waterline, at the aft end of the massive vessel, the four large rotating propeller pods roared to life, kicking up dirt and sediment from the floor of the harbor just beneath them. On the opposite end, the bow thrusters did the same. The _MS Skyward_ slowly backed away from the pier, moving to her left, or port side. After another minute or so, the telemotors and dial were shifted, and the ship was then propelled forward out and away from the piers and into the river proper, turning to port and sailing down the river in the direction of the iconic Statue of Liberty with the pilot controlling the steering joystick. Captain VanRoojen sounded the horn in a long blast.

* * *

Simultaneously, all along the upper decks of the vessel, crowds of passengers had gathered at the railings, waving to the people who stood ashore to watch the _Skyward_ depart and vice versa. Lively music was played through the numerous loudspeakers, and the sail-away party had commenced.

"Umm, Star, do you know anyone down there?" Cyborg asked the Tamaranean princess, who was waving both of her arms wildly and joining in the cheers of the other passengers around them.

"Nope!" she answered instantly, her celebratory mood infectious. Robin chuckled good naturedly, and took her hand in his, meeting her grin with a warm smile.

"I wonder where Beast Boy scampered off to," their cybernetic teammate wondered aloud.

"It's a big ship to explore," the team leader reasoned, "I'm sure we'll see him and Raven later tonight."

The three superheroes along with the countless other passengers around them caught sight of Lady Liberty as the _Skyward_ sailed past the symbolic national monument. The longtime tradition of the statue serving as a greeting and a farewell to passenger ships coming and going from the harbor endured.

* * *

As the festivities continued on the passenger decks, down in the lowest levels of the ship, inside the bow section within the forward cargo hold, the lid on one of the many metal crates neatly arranged throughout the large room unlatched and slowly slid off. A pair of white-gloved hands reached up from within and grasped the rim of the container, and a caucasian male with blonde hair and deep red eyes pulled himself out. Aside from the white gloves, he was clad in a pair of black formal shoes, a formal white suit complete with a jacket and accenuating black tie. A white fedora with a black ribbon tied around the rim sat firmly atop his head, and a black leather belt with holsters holding two scoped revolvers was secured around his waist. The man surveyed his surroundings with an eager, arguably off-putting grin.

"Alles klar! Ah, it feels good to stretch my legs again!" the man in the white suit called out in a German accent once he was sure their position was secure.

"It was getting way too cramped inside that box," another male stated as he climbed out of the crate as well. He was clad from head to toe in a suit of black combat armor complete with matching gloves, boots, and a helmet that enclosed his face, sporting ominous red-tinted lenses. A submachine gun was slung over his back alongside a military supply backpack, both the same color as his armor. A sidearm handgun and combat knife were holstered and sheathed on his belt, which was lined with additional supply and ammunition pouches. "Ready when you are," he added.

"Sehr gut. Time to go to work, mercenary. There are more crates full of our boys that need unlocking from the outside," the man in white informed the black-clad soldier-for-hire.

"I feel sorry for them; they have even less space than we had," the latter drolled as they set about their task.

* * *

It wasn't long after that when Beast Boy returned to the suite he'd been assigned. He had been carrying a heavy, simple linen bag in one hand and a small plate with a cupcake in the other, and he set both down on the accent table beside the door before fumbling around for the key card in his pocket.

Garfield Mark Logan may have been absentminded a lot of the time, but he was by no means a fool: he _knew_ that Raven wasn't happy to be on this ship, and he was undoubtedly the last person she wanted to be assigned as a roommate. Their relationship was complicated at best, and she wasn't as close to him as she was the other Titans. Still, he hoped the kind gestures he'd brought back with him might help her warm up to the idea of sharing a living space with him, temporarily of course. He opened the door, re-pocketed his key card and recollected the items he'd brought for her, and stepped inside. The door moved back into place and clicked shut behind him.

Though the sun had only just begun to set outside, the interior of the suite was dimly-lit, courtesy of the closed curtains and a set of candles Raven had arranged on the floor in a makeshift meditation circle. The arrangement had been set up in the living room, the coffee table pushed up against the curtains which in-turn were pressed against the double glass doors to the balcony. The door to the interior corridor was fairly heavy, and the sound of it opening and closing had no doubt alerted the half-demon to his return, as had the ray of artificial light that had shone in for a moment. She sat in the middle of the circle of candles, levitating off the floor by about a couple feet or so. She paid him no heed, as if silently hoping he would leave her alone. It was not to be.

"I thought we weren't allowed to bring candles on in our luggage," Beast Boy mused with a slight chuckle. She opened one eye just for a second, regarding him reluctantly in the low light.

"I didn't; I conjured these once I unpacked my spellbook," she informed him in her usual monotone.

"Ah, loophole!" he chimed back in a sing-song voice.

"Is there something you need, Beast Boy? You know better than to disturb my meditation," she told him curtly while keeping her eyes closed. She furrowed her brows and opened them both a second later when he flipped the lightswitch for the living room on, much to her irritation.

"Look, Rae," he began, nervousness evident in his tone, "I get it: you're not happy to be here, or have _me_ here, but I felt bad knowing you were missing all the fun stuff going on."

"Our individual interpretations of the word 'fun' are quite different, and you know that," she reminded him, coming back down to the floor and rising to her feet after a defeated sigh. She snapped her figures and the flames on all the candles went out instantly. She didn't miss how he used that nickname for her again. She still didn't like it.

"Well, yeah, but still, I felt bad, so I wanted to bring some fun to you instead!" he told her with a cheerful grin, suddenly finding his confidence now that he had her full attention.

She audibly groaned in response.

"Listen, Beast Boy-"

"They got this place set up in the buffet where you can decorate your own cupcakes!" he interrupted excitedly, presenting the one he worked on for her. She took it from his hands, but didn't give it more than a glance before she looked back up at him.

"Beast Boy-" Raven's monotonous tone was gone, and her voice was gaining an edge to it.

"You should have seen Starfire put them away, oh boy. Good thing she has nine stomachs, am I right?" he laughed at the memory as he lifted up the linen pack, grasping it and its contents with both hands.

"Beast Boy..." her irritation was spiking. Why wouldn't he just shut up for five seconds?

"So, I started thinking-"

"There's a first," she couldn't help but jab at him, smirking to herself just slightly. He paused for a moment, then recollected himself. The hurt in his expression had manifested and vanished in but a second.

"Anyways, I started thinking about what you might like..."

"Beast Boy," she called his name again, more sharply this time.

"... and then it came to me!" his excitement from before had returned.

"Beast Boy," she growled, gnashing her teeth together.

"Just wait, Rae," he reached into the bag with one hand, "You're really gonna like this, I know it!"

It was at that moment that a soft, edible substance made contact with the shapeshifter's face, and once the sting of the forceful impact subsided, he realized what it was: Raven had thrown the cupcake in his face, hard.

The impact was enough to stun him momentarily, enough for him to lose his grip on the bag. It fell, plummeting to the floor and landing atop his foot, heavy contents and all. The shooting pain that resulted was immediate, and Beast Boy fell back and down to the floor in a loud shout.

He was in pain and humiliated, and at that moment, the dark sorceress couldn't bring herself to care. She was upon him in seconds, her rage coming to the surface.

"When are you going to get the truth into your thick skull, Garfield?!" she spat at him with venom, "The best thing you can possibly do for me is to stay away from me! Do you understand, you damnable idiot?! Stay. Away. From. ME!" the whole room shook in tandem with her fury. Beast Boy couldn't help but scoot back along the floor, hurt and fear evident in his eyes. The cupcake's wrapper fell from its mashed up contents on his face as he did so, and the throbbing pain in his foot remained, but his gaze was locked firmly on hers.

"But, Rae, I just-" he found his voice, weakly, before she resumed.

"I don't care, Beast Boy. I don't care about what you have to say, I don't care about what's in that bag, and I don't care about _you_!" flecks of red were beginning to appear in her eyes.

The young shapeshifter felt a deep stab right in the middle of his chest at her words, his heart aching and his own eyes beginning to water.

"I-I just-" he tried again, still in vain.

"SHUT UP!" she screamed at him, "SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP ALREADY AND GET AWAY FROM ME!"

At this point, a lamp fell over and the small plate he'd brought the cupcake on floated up out of her grip and shattered, its pieces falling to the floor. The curtains shifted and thrashed about violently, and the remote for the television flew from its perch on the armrest of the couch and hit the wall across from it. All pieces of furniture in the room briefly levitated and shifted positions somewhat, and the once neatly-arranged candles were tossed up and about. The overhead lights flickered and rattled ominously.

Garfield climbed to his feet and, after wiping the pieces of cupcake from his face, he hobbled out of the suite the way he had come, trying and failing to choke back a sob and a sniffle as he did so. Raven slammed the door behind him with her powers.

Finally, she had some peace and quiet again. She should have felt great.

So why did she suddenly feel so... _cold_?

**A/N: Well, that last part certainly escalated. Next chapter, Raven finds out what's in the bag, along with its implications. Meanwhile, the main plot begins to unfold, and of course greater details on that will come later as well. Work on Chapter 3 is already in progress, so you can certainly expect that sooner than this update. Thank you all for reading and I give my most sincere well-wishes to you in these troubling times. Stay smart, stay safe, and please do listen only to the experts and professionals. **

**Until we meet again, everyone. :)**


	3. Chapter 3: To Reach A Person

Teen Titans: Dangerous Waters

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.**

**A/N: Welcome back, everyone! I do hope all of you are doing well, particularly still given the circumstances. I am pleased I was able to get this update to you sooner than the last one, and I look forward to reading more of your thoughts on this story so far. For those of you who have been expecting more content devoted to BBRae, I think you'll like what I have in store for this chapter and the next. Now, once more and as always, enjoy!**

Chapter 3: To Reach A Person

Emotions, strong and fleeting, honest and deceptive, were a paradox, and that was a truth Raven knew all too well, perhaps better than anyone. Or at least, anyone she knew. Since her arrival on Earth and becoming a Titan three years ago, the dark sorceress had experienced them in abundance, whether they were her own or projected from those around her, and such had only served to reinforce her commitment to the teachings of the monks on Azarath.

Some would argue that with Trigon gone, she shouldn't have to try and deny herself the ups and downs of feeling any longer, but such views were shortsighted. It was true that the risks pertaining to her demonic heritage had been reduced significantly by that particular ordeal, but one undeniable fact remained: her powers were still driven by emotion, and that would never change. While she had, at least most of the time, become quite adept at containing what she felt, suppressing it was still a daily struggle.

A daily struggle made all the more difficult by a certain green teammate of hers, the one she'd just blown up at and sent away fearful of her wrath and hurt at her callous words and actions.

Raven would be lying if she said she felt nothing but ire and scorn for the boy. A twinge of guilt and regret always formulated inside her whenever she caused him pain. Such feelings manifested prominently enough, as evidenced by her grey-cloaked emoticlone. Still, this sinking, _cold_ feeling was unprecedented, yet somehow familiar...

_"But it's all his fault!" _she thought stubbornly, _"He knows not to mess with me when I'm meditating, and he _still_ persisted. He just kept talking and talking and wouldn't be quiet or leave me in peace!"_

_"H-he just wanted t-to do something... he wanted to do something nice... for us," _as if on cue, her timid and sad self spoke up from within Nevermore. She sounded like she was on the verge of tears, no surprise there.

_"Oh please!"_ Raven fired back adamantly, _"Whatever he brought back with him, it's probably just some worthless piece of junk I have no use for. And why exactly couldn't he have just waited for me to finish my meditation? He _knows_ how important that is to me!"_

_"To be fair, you _did_ set up that meditation circle in the living room of the suite you have to share with him, hardly a private space,"_ her logical and intelligent emoticlone interjected, _"he has the same right that space as we do."_

She couldn't deny that. It _wasn't_ fair of her to take up more space than she was entitled to. She could accept fault for that much, but her anger at the boy in question remained. His antics set her off, and she was nothing if not proud, after all.

_"It was soooo great seeing BB again!"_ her joyous and happy self chimed in next, much to Raven's irritation.

_"Seriously?" _she was incredulous, _"We see him every day!"_

_"Well, yeah, but his attention was all on us! Just us! And he brought us a cupcake and gift! How can we _not _enjoy such thoughtfulness? How could you just send him away like that?"_

_"She _does_ have a point, Raven,"_ the yellow cloak emoticlone added, _"Throwing the cupcake in his face and screaming at him like that was really uncalled for. I honestly cringed."_

Now way in the deepest circles of hell was the dark sorceress going to allow her _happy_ side to make her feel bad, and while teaming up with her logic no less.

_"Come on! It's not like he brought me anything worthwhile, anyway!"_

_"Well, how do we know?" _her logical side reasoned. _"You haven't even looked inside the bag, yet."_

Raven glanced down and over at it, still firmly planted on the floor where it came to rest after hitting Beast Boy's foot. Whatever was inside had some weight to it, and was square-shaped, that much was clear. She sighed in exasperation as she walked back over to it and crouched down to pick it up. She thought little of what it could be that lay inside, and focused more on the thought of rolling her eyes or even gagging in response to whatever it was. With a slight gruff she hauled the linen bag up by its straps and placed it on the round dining table between the living room and kitchenette. She then pulled it open to take a peak inside.

A wide-eyed gasp promptly followed and she took a step back, releasing the bag and letting it obstruct her view of its contents again, not that such an action made any difference. What was inside was familiar and unmistakable.

_"Books? He brought me books?"_ she mentally questioned herself in disbelief.

There was no response from her emoticlones. Silence permeated her mindscape once more.

The dark sorceress stepped back to the table and pulled the bag open once more, and after a moment, allowed herself to raise her free hand to reach inside, almost shakily in spite of herself. There were three books stacked neatly one atop the other, and she pulled them out of the bag one by one from top to bottom.

The first one was a fairly small, laminated paperback book, and its covers features a selection of old black and white photos depicting different locations. An old amusement park, a lighthouse, and a replica of a Greco-Roman lyceum or theatre in a city park were featured in three of them. The pages were thin and numbered at likely around one hundred and twenty five in total. The title stood out in bold, red font: _Hauntings in Gotham: A Collection of Ghost Stories from America's Mafia Capital_.

The second book was about medium in size, its covers made of a coarse, durable fabric, deep purple in color. It was only somewhat thicker than the first book, probably about one hundred and fifty pages or so. The profile of a hooded young woman was displayed on the front cover, crowned by the title which was in pitch black and cursive font: _The Chronicle of Luxa Tenebrus, Teen Witch_.

And finally, the last one was fairly large, its brown, recycled leatherback covers tall and wide. It was worn, and evidently more dated than the other two. Its pages were prominent and plentiful, at least over four hundred, leaving little wonder as to why it was the heaviest of the three. Stamped into the front cover in numeric font was the title: _Encyclopedia of Magical Studies: Medieval Era Edition_.

To say Raven was caught completely off-guard would have been a severe understatement. Judging by their titles alone, all of these books were literature she would enjoy reading. A quick skim of their descriptions on their back covers only served to solidify that belief.

Beast Boy had clearly put a lot of thought into getting these books for her, which she had to assume were from the ship's library. A small notecard at the bottom of the bag, which had apparently been tucked away under the books, confirmed this. With her hand now noticeably shaking, Raven reached back into the bag and retrieved it, and felt her eyes go wide once more when she red the time stamp on the back.

_"He... he spent over an hour there..."_

There was no doubt about it now; the green shapeshifter had taken a considerable amount of his free time just to do something entirely for her benefit, putting in the effort to make sure he got it right. And that wasn't even counting the time he spent preparing her cupcake. Once she remembered the dessert, Raven's focus shifted to its destroyed remnants still strewn about the floor, and she had to swallow a lump that promptly formed in her throat at the sight of it and the memory of what she'd done. She set the notecard down and, after taking in and exhaling a deep breath in an attempt to calm her nerves, she whispered her familiar mantra and reached out to telekenetically grasp and levitate the pieces. Meticulously, the cupcake was reconstructed until it resembled its original form, and it came to rest in the palm of her free hand once she relinquished her magical hold over it.

The dark sorceress felt her heart sink as she let out another audible gasp, and this time, her eyes began to water.

The cupcake, chocolate in flavor, was decorated across its top with dark blue icing, her favorite color, and hers and Garfield's faces, crudely drawn, were featured prominently in the center, both smiling up at her. He used green icing for his face, naturally, and white for hers and dark purple for her hair, with black for their facial features. Raven had no way of knowing how long decorating this dessert took, but judging by the effort and details with the different icing, it must've taken some time.

_"Why?"_ Raven's inner voice was now sounding more desperate and frantic, _"Why would he do all this, for me?"_

_"I think that's obvious, Raven,"_ her logic finally spoke up again, _"You know it, you just want to hear it from us. So here it is: he cares about us. It's really that simple."_

The sinking feeling in her chest worsened. Her heart was constricted, and the cold chill within her increased. She blinked back the tears desperately.

_"Oh Azar, what I have done?"_

She had only felt this desolate just once before in her life. The revelation sent her reeling, because it was when she had resigned herself to the dark prophecy pertaining to her sixteenth birthday. The one that very nearly ended the world, all because of her. That was what she felt.

Raven collapsed into a heap of her cloak, and cried.

* * *

It was about another hour later when, on the bridge of the elegant liner, Captain VanRoojen stood beside First Officer Murtaugh and the helmsman, overlooking the open ocean over the ship's bow. The sun had set at this point, and the bright light of the moon illuminated a shimmering trail over the waves before them.

"Unusual for this time of year," the captain mused aloud, "It's almost a flat calm out there."

"I say we enjoy it while it lasts, sir," the first officer commented, "Sailing through two nor'easters was enough."

"Indeed," the former agreed. After another minute or so, he pulled out a pocket watch from his coat pocket and spoke up again after checking the time, "Well, I'm off. Maintain the speed and heading, Mr. Murtaugh."

"Aye, captain," the latter acknowledged.

And with that, VanRoojen took his leave, ready to turn in for the evening in his quarters, located at the front of the officers' accommodation area behind the bridge. The grey-haired captain entered the corridor and closed the door behind him, and was met by Third Officer Nielson.

"Captain, sir, may I have a moment of your time?" the latter asked respectfully.

"Of course, Mr. Nielson," the former affirmed, continuing to walk down the hallway and motioning for the officer to walk beside him.

"Thank you, sir. I was just at the purser's office and I was informed it has been discovered there are a number of crates in the forward hold that were not on the cargo manifest."

VanRoojen was understandably perplexed at this unexpected news.

"And the contents of these unlisted crates?" he inquired further.

"They were empty when inspected, sir," Nielson explained. The two men stopped at the end of the corridor, and the officer waited as the captain carefully contemplated what to do next.

"Alert the master-at-arms and have security do a sweep of all cargo holds, the engine room, and the rest of the lower decks, but make sure they're discreet about it. We don't want to alarm any of the passengers or the rest of the crew until we have more information."

"Yes, captain, I'll take care of it immediately," the third officer acknowledged, nodding as he did so.

* * *

"Oh yeah, baby! One extra large meat lover's supreme!" Cyborg exclaimed excitedly as he set a circular serving tray down on the table his other two teammates sat at, Starfire clapping her hands excitedly in anticipation. The tray's contents: one rather impressive-looking brick oven tomato pie.

Belsario's Pizzeria, themed after a traditional Manhattan Little Italy pizza joint, was the most popular location on the ship for the favorite food of choice for the Titans. It was located near the upper level of the shopping mall on Deck 6. The bionic eagerly took his seat across from the alien princess and their team leader, and wasted no time digging in to their delicious, shared meal.

"I spoke with the Deputy Mayor and everything seems to be in order for the charity ball. He'll introduce us on-stage during the commemoration speech, so there will be no doubts regarding our presence," Robin informed the other two, before shifting to another subject, one more prevalent in his mind at the moment, "Raven and Beast Boy both missed the last check-in time on the communicator. I was going to tell them to meet us here," he paused for a moment to look back over his shoulder warily. "It's odd that we haven't heard anything from them since the lifeboat drill."

"Heh, green bean probably found a place that serves tofu and pigged out there instead, then went on over to the arcade and is blowing all of his spending money in there," Cyborg reasoned between bites.

"And Friend Raven does the treasuring of her alone time," Starfire added as she reached for a slice.

"That may be true, but they're violating the team's protocol," the former apprentice of Gotham City's iconic crimefighter countered, his brows furrowing slightly. Cyborg finished chewing and gulping down a large bite of his slice before replying.

"Seriously man, we're on vacation. We can afford to be a little lax with protocol for the next few days."

"Perhaps you're right," Robin sighed, "truth be told this is my first vacation in, well... ever," Robin admitted somewhat awkwardly. He nearly jumped in surprise and slightly blushed when he felt his girlfriend lean over to give him a quick peck on the cheek. She promptly giggled at his reaction.

"Well, we shall have the first full day tomorrow for you to get in the hanging of it, Boyfriend Robin."

The team leader allowed himself to smile back at the alien princess, but the nagging suspicion that something was going on with the empath and the shapeshifter remained.

* * *

Beast Boy _had_ in fact found a small eatery that served tofu; The Garden Grill, a quick service cafe with vegetarian and vegan dishes located near the solarium on Deck 14. But after finishing his dinner, he decided against going to the arcade, or any other place on the ship he would have considered fun at just about any other time.

It was safe to say all of his previous excitement and merriment had been thrown overboard the moment... well, he preferred to try and not think about just how badly her words had cut him.

_"I should be furious. I wanted to shout back and scream at her just like she was going to me, so why didn't I?"_ he berated himself, his gaze sunken and downcast.

He realized, with a pang gnawing at his already fractured heart, it was because he was simply more hurt than angry.

The green shapeshifter had arrived at the observation ring, the highest point on the ship accessible for passengers. It was located above Deck 16 on the forward section of the ship, and during the day it offered a three hundred and sixty degree view of everything around the ship. The same could be said at night, too, but it wasn't as popular with passengers once visibility was reduced. It offered the solitude the young man currently desired without him having to return to the suite. He came to rest on a couch and laid down, and his mind wandered back to a previous time he had tried to comfort his cloaked teammate. It had gone a bit better that time...

* * *

_To say that Beast Boy felt like the biggest jerk in the history of jerks would have been an understatement. It was now clear that Raven had been hurt and betrayed by that talking dragon trapped in that book, and a big part of the reason she had accepted that nasty creature's company was because he had initially hurt her when he called her 'creepy.'_

_Oh sure, Raven was definitely creepy, but he hadn't meant to drive her away from him and the rest of the team. He was just frustrated and angry when he said it. He never wanted to hurt her._

_"Me and my big, stupid mouth," he had thought to himself in shame at the time._

_Once he was in front of her bedroom door, he hesitated only for a moment before raising his fist and knocking softly._

_"Raven?" he asked, almost timidly, his voice laced with concern in an uncharacteristically soft undertone. "It's me," he willed himself to continue before he lost his nerve, "Look, I wanted to say, I'm sorry." _

_He waited in silence for a moment, anticipating her reply, or lack-there-of. He felt his heart skip a beat when she did speak up, muffled from the other side of the door._

_"For what?" she sounded so miserable and sad. Her pain was hurting him as well. "You're not the one who-"_

_"No," he interrupted, wanting to clarify where he was coming from, "I'm sorry that... he broke your heart."_

_"I know it was all a lie," she acknowledged, bitterly, "But he was the only person who ever made me feel like I wasn't... creepy, and don't try to tell me I'm not."_

_He knew this was coming, and fortunately he had thought of what to say._

_"Okay, fine, you're way creepy, but that doesn't mean you have to stay locked in your room," he reasoned, sincerely, hoping he was making himself clear, "You think you're alone, Raven, but you're not," he added, silently pleading for her to believe him._

_It was less than a moment later when the door flew open and Raven, the stoic, calm, collected, mysterious superheroine stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace, tugging his body against her own. He felt the oncoming blush form in his face before he could stop himself. After a few seconds of wide-eyed shock, he reflexively pulled back, at a complete loss for words. _

_Before either of them could utter another word, a misshapen, bunched up mess of dirty laundry collided with the side of his head and sent him tumbling down onto the floor. A quick whiff and Beast Boy recognized instantly what it was that struck him; the stank ball._

_Cyborg clamored excitedly, his surprise toss having met its mark. The green shapeshifter sat up and groaned, dazed, but he quickly regathered his bearings and grew surprised when Raven retrieved the stank ball, and shifted her focus to guy who had interrupted them. A mischievous look formed on her face as she enveloped the pungent object with her magic. Cyborg promptly stammered nervously and tried to back away, to no avail._

_Garfield couldn't help but let out a bout of amused laughter at the sight. It seemed, in a way, he had finally gotten her to participate in a game with him, albeit thanks largely to the unwitting help of their bionic teammate._

_It brought him great relief to know that, despite his screw-ups and tactless missteps, Raven was still his friend._

* * *

He _thought_ they were friends, and she had affirmed that when he asked her years ago not long after the team was first formed, but she still put him down on a regular basis, still berated and mocked him, and still wrote him off as an immature nobody unworthy of her attention.

Garfield had become quite adept at projecting an outward appearance of self-assurance and confidence over the course of his childhood and now his teenage years as well. As far as anyone knew, he was the funny man, the comic relief, the guy who told jokes and was the butt of other people's jokes, taking all of them in stride. He preferred it that way.

But there was no denying he would be lying to himself if he ever claimed that all the things Raven said to him didn't hurt.

Somewhere inside himself, he knew this had all been building up even before her less-than-anticipated reaction to his attempts at cheering her up earlier that evening. He choked back a sob as he forced away the unwelcome memory.

It was then, after a deep, shaky, and forlorn sigh, when Beast Boy realized his current location wasn't too unlike that rock down by the shoreline on Titans Island he'd gone to for solitude before, where only Raven had ever found him.

Not that it mattered, as far as he was concerned. He was sure that she wouldn't be looking for him this time...

* * *

The _MS Skyward_ was capable of comfortably and safely accomodating approximately six thousand five hundred and forty eight passengers, in addition to approximately two thousand and seventy four crew. For a single person to search up, down, and all around the sixteen passenger decks was no small task, and yet it _was_ Raven's task. Despite her sense of urgency, given the situation, the empath faced the challenge like she did any other and approached it with logic and reason.

She had narrowed down the list of places to search on the ship using her knowledge of Beast Boy's likes and mannerisms. She would start with the most obvious locations and work here way from there.

Even so, it was easier said than done.

As the evening wore on and she found no sign of the green shapeshifter, her urgency, self-loathing and guilt only increased. Every so often she checked her communicator, hoping that one of her teammates would call and she could inquire if Beast Boy was with them. As far as she was concerned, dragging them into this mess of her own volition was out of the question.

It was about half past nine when Raven arrived back at the arcade on Deck 15, which she had already checked earlier as one of her first stops. It was a single fairly large room lined with various gaming stations, and upon searching among the several younger teens present who were engrossed with their games of choice, it didn't take long for the dark sorceress to deduce that Beast Boy was not there, again.

Deciding she needed to take a break and collect her thoughts, Raven took a seat on a bench outside in the hallway. The half-demon lowered her head into her hands, her gaze downcast as she struggled at wit's end. It was then when she recalled the memory of a previous time alone with the teammate she was searching for...

* * *

_It had been a calm, moonlit night over the bay, the quiet a stark contrast to the turbulent events of the day preceding it. Raven found the familiar green shapeshifter sitting on a rock at the shoreline outside the tower, looking down at his reflection in the water below. She could feel his remorse and fear from where she stood a couple yards away, and though the empath had been quiet in her approach, it didn't take long for his heightened senses to detect her familiar presence._

_"Sooo... he was the one who hurt you, right? Not me?"_

_In hindsight, now his initial question stood out for her immediately. Starfire had relayed to her what transpired while she was out, and she pieced it together with what she already knew. Beast Boy had transformed into some kind of werebeast courtesy of the chemicals that had doused him and Adonis during the battle the night before, the effects of which was causing his already unstable DNA structure to begin breaking down, and Robin had restrained him and threatened him with full-blown imprisonment alongside full-fledged criminals and villains. And yet, despite all of that, his focus was on his genuine corcern that he had hurt her while transformed._

"Even back then he showed me how much he cared. Why didn't I pay more attention to that?" Raven lamented to herself. _"He broke into the tower to attack you, and wound up attacking me, too."_

_"Ugh, I can't believe I ate meat. I acted like a real jerk, I'm sorry," his voice fell real low as he apologized earnestly, the shame evident in his tone._

_"You weren't yourself," she reasoned. _"... and I can relate," _she had added silently._

_"Cyborg said the chemicals at the lab messed with my DNA, unleased something... primal," his tone was even now, but the fear behind it was still evident to the dark sorceress._

_"And he gave you an antidote, you're better now," came her as-a-matter-of-fact counterpoint._

_"Yeah, but that thing, that beast, it's still there; I can feel it."_

_Raven had just about enough of his anxiety flowing into her, so she moved to sit at his side and put this matter to rest._

_"Good," she stated with finality, catching his attention as she took her seat. "If it wasn't for that Beast, I might not be here right now," she elaborted, "Having that thing inside you doesn't make you a monster. Knowing when to let it out is what makes you a man," she told him sincerely._

_"Hmm..." how could he fit so much mischief into one syllable? "Maybe you should call me... Beast _Man_ from now on?" he rose to his feet and struck a proud and confident pose, too much so for her liking._

_"We're having a moment here, don't ruin it," she deadpanned, and he promptly plopped back down beside her._

_"Beast... _Dude_?" he tried again, much to her consternation._

"In all seriousness, I'm glad I was able to make him feel better," _she acknowledged to herself in recollection, _"If there's one person who shouldn't have to fear what's inside them, it's Garfield."

_She had only groaned in response at the time._

* * *

"Are you alright, miss?" an unfamiliar voice brought her attention back to the present. Raven looked up and saw a crewman glancing sideways in her direction. He must've caught sight of her in his peripheral.

The dark sorceress couldn't help but muse at the professionalism among the crew she had encountered on the ship so far. No doubt the majority of them were at least aware of she and teammates' status as superheroes, yet so far they had been addressed and treated just the same as the other passengers. For her own part, Raven was grateful, because being ogled like a celebrity was _not_ something she found appealing.

"I'm okay, thank you," she lied, in no mood to involve a stranger in her predicament. She felt a twinge of guilt for her dishonesty, amplified slightly when the man eyed her quizzically before shrugging.

"Okay then," and he made to leave, but was halted again a second later.

"Wait," Raven called out, a thought dawning on her courtesy of her recent recollection, "Are there any places on this ship still open that have a wide view of the ocean, and are by any chance secluded?"

The crewman thought to himself for a moment before answering.

"Well, the observation ring on Deck 16 is open all night, and few passengers go there once the sun sets, so it could be considered secluded right now I suppose."

The empath shot to her feet in an instant and took off, her heart pounding in her chest in anticipation. "Thank you!" she called back over her shoulder, and the briefly stupefied individual simply smiled and returned to his duties a moment later.

* * *

It was several minutes later when Raven arrived at the entrance to the observation deck up a flight of stairs. Just as she'd been told, the doors were unlocked, and she made her way inside. The sconces along the wall on the inner-most side of the ring offered only scarce lighting, and so the moon's glow emanating through the tall windows provided the majority of the illumination. In between the sconces were cushioned couches lined with accent tables. The dark sorceress eyed them closely as she navigated the circular walkway, searching intently for the green shapeshifter.

It wasn't long before she found him curled up on his side upon one of the couches, facing the large windows that overlooked the starboard or right side of the ship as well as the vast, open ocean and star-studded sky above. Steeling herself with a deep breath, she slowly approached and spoke to him softly, hoping not to startle him, or scare him away.

"Beast Boy?"

She received no response, but upon closer inspection the empath realized he was fast asleep. After hesitating for a moment, she carefully sat down beside the young man, and stared at him in puzzlement despite herself. She knew she should have been able to sense his presence through his emotions, which still projected from someone as they slept. But she had felt nothing from him, and that both confused and alarmed her.

She thought about the different possibilities that could have enabled such phenomena, and none of them were particularly appealing. She narrowed it down to a handful of posibilities; either the turmoil of the evening had left her powers out of focus, Beast Boy had employed a means to shut her out, he simply wasn't feeling, a disheartening concept to be sure, or some combination of the three.

After sitting and watching him for a few more minutes, the rise and fall of his chest and the gentle sound of his steady breathing, Raven started feeling like falling alseep herself. Her eyelids lowered slightly before she caught herself. Just being in Beast Boy's presence again seemed to calm a lot of her previous anxiety, and as the adrenalene wore off, she came to realize just how drained the last few hours had left her. Still, she had come here to make amends with her friend, and she wouldn't lose sight of that goal now. The temptation to wake him was there, but she resisted. She could just as easily scare him off that way, so she opted for a more subtle approach. That said, she couldn't quite gague his potential reaction while he was alseep, and while she was shut out from his emotions.

It was then that she decided, perhaps against her better judgement, to try and peer into his mind while he slept. She knew it would be an invasion of his privacy, but her curiosity was quickly getting the better of her. She couldn't sense anything from him, and she wanted to know how and why. She wanted answers, and perhaps knowing would help him, too.

The dark sorceress closed her eyes and whispered her familiar mantra once again, and reached out with her right hand, and after stilling for a few seconds, allowed the tips of her fingers to delicately caress the top of Beast Boy's head.

Her eyes shot open, glowing the same brilliant white they always did whenever she used her stronger spells. Nothing could have prepared her for what she saw inside Garfield's mind...

**A/N: BBRae fans, suffice to say, prepare yourselves for the next chapter.**

**Truthfully the initial version of this chapter was quite a bit different, but I decided to rewrite much of it as I felt what was here before didn't really fit the story, or the tone I'm going for with the characters, particularly Beast Boy and Raven, who are my two favorites among the Titans. My goal in regards to writing them is to remain as true to their portrayal in the original animated series as possible, while making their further character development and growth believable as well. I truly hope I've succeeded in that regard so far. Please feel free to share your thoughts on the direction of this story as it progresses.**

**Work on Chapter 4 has already begun, so it really shouldn't take too long before it's ready as well. Once again thank you all for reading, and of course another thank you to my longtime beta reader and friend, Wikked Grin. Be safe and be well, everyone. :)**


	4. Chapter 4: Something New

Teen Titans: Dangerous Waters

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.**

**A/N: Welcome back, everyone! It's time for another update, and I believe it is safe to say that this is the chapter you BBRae fans have been waiting for. You've all waited long enough, so enjoy!**

Chapter 4: Something New

Truth be told, Raven actually had no idea what to expect to see inside Beast Boy's mind. The resident jokester and prankster of the team was bit of an enigma to her. She had initially written him off as just childish and immature, but their brief one-on-one interactions with each other over the last three years had left her with the impression that there was more to him than he let on. Following first incident with his inner animal, the Beast as he had called it, she began to suspect he may have been like herself in that he only showed what he wanted other people to see.

Once her spell was cast and the transfer link was completed, she got her confirmation, and the realization that her suspicions had actually been quite an understatement. However, it was the nature of what she saw that captivated her, rooted her to her spot, and left her glowing white eyes brimming with unshed tears.

Her words, repeated in her own voice, flooded from Beast Boy's head into her own. But they weren't just any words; they were her insults, her screams, her dismissive put-downs, and they were all of them. They were replayed in chronological order, projected almost like some home movie, and with them came each stab of pain Garfield felt in their wake.

_"I- I had no idea he felt this way... he remembers all of them..." _She was reliving moments she had forgotten herself, and the fact they were etched into Beast Boy's memory so strongly and vividly took her aback. _"Guess I can never make fun of his mental capacity again," _she thought ruefully.

The empath raised a hand to clutch at her chest, her heart aching as each stab of his pain hurt more than the last. She wanted to cancel the spell, to sever the mental link and pull away, but she couldn't. She feared it would actually hurt _worse_, just knowing she was too much of a coward to face the same pain she forced upon him. So she remained as still as possible, though she couldn't stop the shaking as her body began to tremble. The intensity of his hurt was quickly causing her to near the edge of her breaking point.

_"I'm sorry, Beast Boy, I'm so, so sorry..."_

Why hadn't he told her? Why hadn't he tried to stop her? Why did he let her do this to him? How the hell could he still stand being in her presence, knowing and remembering all the pain she caused him?

Raven shuddered violently before she could stop herself, nearly falling back on the couch. She had to wipe at her eyes with her other hand at this point. Now it was her turn to choke back a sob.

Suddenly, her teammate groaned and shifted about on the couch, causing the dark sorceress to freeze up in alarm. She was about to cancel the spell before he could wake up and catch her in the act, but her focus was shattered a moment later.

"Ugah... mmm, Rae..." he muttered his nickname for her softly and dreamily.

The empath abruptly recoiled, severing the mental link right then and there. Her heart rate sped up to a rapid pace, and her glowing white eyes faded back to their usual violet. It was not a moment later when they locked on to his emerald ones, just as the latter blinked away the sleep.

"Rae... huh? Raven?!"

Well, he was definitely fully awake now.

"Yes, Beast Boy, it's me," she acknowledged in an even tone, to her credit considering her inner turmoil, all while wiping the last traces of moisture from her eyes.

Seemingly forgetting all that transpired between them earlier that evening, for the moment, the shapeshifter quickly sat up and looked at his teammate with visible concern, his brows furrowing in worry.

"Raven, what's wrong?" the softness and genuine concern voiced in his simple question was almost enough to send her over the edge again. He reached up as if to place his hand on her shoulder reassuringly, but then retracted it, remembering her aversion to -physical contact.

"It's nothing I didn't deserve," she replied solemnly.

"Huh?" now he was visibly confused. But then, his expression turned wide-eyed as he finally remembered why he was on this couch in the first place, six whole decks away from their suite.

Raven winced slightly as she felt another sharp stab of pain in her chest. She felt his sorrow and hurt once again, and it was projected from him in real time in this instance. It seemed whatever was causing the block before had abated. She had no right to ask anything of him at this point, but the words left her mouth before she could stop them.

"Please don't go, Beast Boy," she implored him, just above a whisper.

Garfield's confused expression returned. Raven had _never_ told him not to leave, and he had _never_ heard her practically beg anyone for anything as long as he'd known her. Now he was the one rooted in place, and completely taken aback.

A still silence passed between them for a few moments, as the empath waited patiently for him to collect his thoughts.

"Why are you here?" he asked her once he found his voice again.

"There's something I need to say, Beast Boy," she admitted, willing herself to get to the heart of the matter before she lost her courage, never breaking eye contact in the process. "I've never told you this before, but it's long overdue... I'm... I'm sorry. I'm so, so _sorry_."

"Raven..." Beast Boy was in awe, completely caught off-guard. He was unsure of what to think or say, but he tried anyway. "It's o-"

"No!" Raven objected harshly, causing him to jump slightly. Her brows furrowed in consternation, and a hint of self-loathing as well. _"What have I done to him? Why did I make him think this way? Why didn't I see any of this sooner?"_ she spat at herself mentally. "It's _not_ okay, Garfield. It's not okay, and it never was, this time or any other," she told him resolutely.

"Rae... that's the first time you used my real name... without using it to mock me," he informed her, speaking just above a whisper, the desbelief evident as he did so.

The dark sorceress sniffled and wiped her eyes again in response. She was aware that Beast Boy had never seen her quite so emotionally vulnerable, but she didn't care right now. After everything she put him through, she owed him this.

"There's no excuse for what I've done to you, Garfield, and I don't just mean what I said and did to you back in the suite," she told him sincerely. He stayed still, watching and listening to her, wide-eyed and completely mesmerized. "I mean everything, all the insults, the put-downs, all of it. Everything I ever said and did to you that made you feel small and insignificant. I was wrong, and again, I'm sorry."

Despite the underlying feelings of frutration and hurt that remained, Garfield felt his heart ache for the young woman beside him. He was aware that being so direct with another person and open with her own feelings were both unfamiliar territory for the empath. He just _couldn't_ stay angry with her, knowing this. She was making a concentrated effort for his sake, and to know she cared meant the world to him. However, there was still something about this that confused him, and it was now at the forefront of his mind.

"Raven... I-" he paused in further thought for a brief moment, trying to word the question carefully, "How did you find out...?"

The dark sorceress didn't need to restablish the mental link to know what he meant. She gulped in spite of herself and averted her gaze in regret for a moment, but shifted back to lock her eyes with his again soon after. She wouldn't falter now, if she could help it. She wouldn't hide from him. Her apology would mean nothing if she did.

"Garfield, when I found you here, asleep, I couldn't sense anything from you," she admitted, "As you know, normally I can feel the emotions of those within a wide area around me, and this is true even when a person slumbers. But I couldn't feel anything from you, even when I was sitting right where I am now beside you, and I'll admit, it worried me," she told him earnestly. "I know it's not an excuse, but I cast a spell to let me peer into your mind while you slept," she fought the urge to wince again as his eyes widened in obvious surprise at the revelation. "I apologize once more. It was out of line," she acknoledged, lowering her head and averting her gaze again as she finished, unable to meet his eyes any longer.

She caught his alarmed expression that formed in her peripheral, and she felt her chest tighten again as his panic seeped into her. Only, his reason for feeling this way wasn't what she thought it was.

"I understand if you want me to go, I-," she started, but he interrupted her abruptly.

"No!" he blurted out, startling her and drawing her focus back to him, "That's not what I'm worried about, Raven," he quickly explained, not wanting her to leave and retreat back into her normal, withdrawn self. She'd never been this open with him before, and he didn't want to lose this opportunity.

"What is it then?" she asked in a voice just above a whisper. She watched as he signed and collected his thoughts once again, steeling himself for what he was about to say. Raven knew whatever it was, it was serious, and something he likely hadn't shared with anyone before.

"Raven, you and the rest of the team know I was with the Doom Patrol for several years before joining the Titans," he started, his eyes never leaving hers, "You all met Mento and the others, remember?" He paused for a second, and continued once she nodded, "Well, when I first joined the team, I had to undergo some pretty intense physical and mental training, or at least it all seemed pretty intense to a little kid like me at the time," he chuckled slightly at the memory. "A big part of that was conditioning my mind to resist intrusion from outside sources, which also included keeping what I projected from my mind boxed up from those who could sense it," now he paused again as her eyes widdened at the revelation. He had never told anyone else this information about him before, and no one outside the Doom Patrol had known until now.

"You're telling me you can actually put up a mental barrier at will?" the dark sorceress was both in disbelief and impressed. Not even Robin could do the same.

"Pretty much," Garfield acknowledged. Something still didn't add up for Raven.

"But, Beast Boy, that doesn't explain why I couldn't sense anything from you while you were asleep. Did you put up a barrier beforehand, anticipating I might come looking for you?"

"Um, no," he stated simply in reply, "I actually wasn't expecting you to come looking for me at all..." he added softly, an echo of his earlier sorrow present in his voice. Raven felt yet another pang of regret. "My brain must have put the technique into practice on its own once I was out."

"You mean you subconsciously put up that mental barrier to block me?" she was incredulous, and to be honest, frightened. The prospect of not feeling anything from Beast Boy at all disturbed her. She didn't want it to be repeated, ever again.

"It's the best explanation I can think of," he reasoned, "It's never happened before, though."

Raven visibly stiffened as the realization dawned on her. It was clear now that her companion had the ability to shut her out at will, both consciously and subconsciously. The idea that she could potentially never feel what he was feeling again chilled her to the bone. Sure, she could do without his negative emotions, but the same was true for everyone else she felt. No, it was all his good feelings she would miss terribly. She had never admitted it to him or anyone else, but his good cheer, his compassion, and his general happiness always enveloped her in what felt like a warm, toasty blanket, wrapping her in their comfort. And the events of this evening had left her feeling as though that blanket had been torn from her, and she'd been left with nothing on a cold, hard floor.

Somewhere along the way, she became dependent on the comfort his warm feelings brought her, and that realization shook her to her core. The thought of being so reliant on anyone unsettled her, but one thing was clear above all else:

She couldn't lose what he made her feel. She couldn't lose _him_, as cliché as that sounded.

Raven found herself resolving to be a better friend to him, because he _deserved_ better. She didn't know why he had become so fixated on being her friend, much less now after coming to see and feel all the pain she put him through, but she made herself promise to do better and be better. She wanted to feel deserving of those warm feelings of his.

"Garfield, I think it's time we head back to our rooms," she told him with just a hint of a smile, again earning yet another surprised expression from him.

"W-wait, Raven, are you sure?" he was caught off-guard by her words once again.

"Absolutely. The suite was assigned to both of us," she answered simply. And with that she stood up from the couch and made to leave. She started walking as he stared at her back, wide-eyed as ever. "Are you coming?" she inquired from over her shoulder.

He snapped out of it and nodded a bit too enthusiastically, and hopped off the couch before running over to keep pace with her. She looked ahead and allowed herself to smile just a bit more for a second.

It was nice to have Beast Boy back.

* * *

Raven slowly opened her eyes. Faint traces of the sun's brilliant morning rays shone through the blinds over the large glass windows and double doors that connected her room to the veranda outside overlooking the ocean. Her lavender hair was unkempt from sleep. She groaned and turned onto her other side, facing away from the sunlight. Her demon half had always left her more sensitive to it than full humans. Despite the unwelcome natural interruption, the dark sorceress felt strangely... content. She honestly couldn't remmeber the last time she had experienced such a fulfulling night's rest.

Her eyes shot open again a moment later and she looked over to the digital clock on the nightstand off to the right.

_"10:42 A.M.?! Oh damn it!"_ she cursed mentally as she flew up and out of bed.

It was no secret to her temmates that the empath was an early riser, typically being the first up after Robin, who had retained the same sleep schedule since his days with the Bat. The others would no doubt notice her absence: everyone had agreed with Robin's suggestion that the team would check in at 9:30 every morning. Well, he had actually wanted it to be scheduled earlier, but Starfire had talked him out of it, after the expected complaining from Cyborg and Beast Boy.

She had already missed the last two scheduled check-in times the previous evening while searching for the green shapeshifter. Their leader was many things, but patient wasn't among them. Raven groaned to herself as she quickly set about her morning routine, dreading the dawning prospect of being chewed out by the Boy Wonder. At least she could likely count on Beast Boy being in the same boat as her, pun not intended; it was also no secret that he was a heavy sleeper, and had the habit of sleeping until about noon if left uninterrupted.

After a quick shower and hair drying session, the dark sorceress set about dressing in some civilian clothes. While each of the Titans kept more than enough of their individual uniforms in their closets back in the tower and never really bothered with more casual wear, they had gone about purcashing some for the voyage at the insistence of the mayor. He had told them to 'enjoy' themselves and try not to 'stress' about the real reason for their impromptu vacation. Of course Starfire had been esctatic about a shopping trip to the mall, and Raven significantly less so. She had begrudgingly settled on a couple sets, and the one she chose for today was a navy blue blazer with matching fingerless biker gloves and skirt, a deep blue strapless top, and a pair of dark brown laced-up boots. Once she finished dressing, Raven emerged from her temporary bedroom and suddenly stopped in her tracks.

Beast Boy was not only up and about, he was dressed in a set of his civilian garb as well. He had opted for a white t-shirt with a black and white illustration of the serengeti on the front, the only other color being the brilliant yellow used for the sun in the background. In addition, he wore rough blue denim jeans, a set of magenta and white sneakers, a deep grey hoodie, and a pair of magenta, reinforced gloves. His alpine green hair was neatly styled and his face freshly shaven, indicating he had spent a fair amount of time grooming himself this morning.

Before she stared too long, the sight and smell of a full breakfast drew Raven's attention to where it sat on a set of plates on a plastic tray, placed on the cafe table. There was a stack of three pancakes topped with syrup and melting butter, and side dishes of scrambled eggs mixed with cheese, hash browns, and two sausage links. A folded cloth napkin with all the necessary silverware was placed on the edge of the tray to the right, and opposite on the left sat a glass of orange juice.

"Uhhh, good morning, Raven, hehe," he grinned sheepishly as he broke the silence.

"Good morning, Beast Boy," Raven acknowledged him politely, ignoring the rumbling in her stomach.

"I- I brought you breakfast, so uh, heh, enjoy!" he cocked his head to to the side, motioning to the meal he just laid out for her. He was met with a somewhat puzzled expression from her.

"What about you?" she asked him, "And you have to tell me right now if you put any tofu in there," she added, deadpanning.

"I got up at a little after nine. Don't worry, I covered for you with Robin and the others at check-in. I got myself breakfast at the buffet and then made that tray to bring back for you, since I found out they stop serving breakfast at eleven. No tofu at all in there, I promise," he explained, smiling softly.

Her surprise that he actually woke up almost two hours before her aside, Raven had to avert her gaze, hoping he didn't see the faint blush form on her face. Those warm feelings she had missed were back. She allowed herself another faint smile for a brief moment, and judging by his grin, he caught it.

"Thank you, Garfield. That was very thoughtful of you," she told him sincerely. She couldn't help but glance over to the stack of books from last night, now placed on the coffee table.

"Happy to do it!" he replied, his eyes practically twinkling. It was obvious he was grateful his kind gesture was well recieved. "I'll let you eat in privacy, I need to go next door and ask Cy about something."

"Okay," the empath nodded, turning back to face him before he left.

As she took her seat, Raven couldn't stop the twinge of guilt that pulled slightly in her chest.

_"What have you done for him lately?"_ She asked herself. Nothing came to mind.

She would have to fix that. Today.

Several minutes later, it was just when she was finishing her breakfast that Robin, Cyborg, and Starfire all came in, using the connecting door between their suites. She stood up from her seat to greet them.

"Good morning, everyone," she greeted cordially. Ths was the first time she saw them in their civilian garb as well.

The team leader had opted for blue and white sneakers, grey jeans, a black t-shirt, and a dark blue jacket with golden embroidery that read _'Gotham University'_ on the back, and had the academy's logo on the right shoulder. He still wore the familiar eye mask from his uniform on his face, as expected.

The alien princess was clad in a white shirt with the NASA logo printed on the front and the words _'Kennedy Space Center' _printed in bold black print on the back, blue denim shorts, and white sports shoes.

There wasn't really a need for their bionic teammate to try out a new wardrobe, but he had picked out a deep red and white football jacket and some black-tinted sunglasses just to avoid completely standing out next to everyone else in their casual wear.

"Oh, and the good morning to you as well, Friend Raven!" Starfire replied, bubbly as ever. "Did you sleep well?"

"I did, thank you," the empath replied earnestly. She took notice of the way Robin eyed her, somewhat quizically.

"I'm glad you're feeling better," he told her, "Beast Boy informed us you spent the entire evening mediating so you could adjust to being in close proximity to the thousands of people on this ship and their emotions. I makes sense you'd be seriously tired after all that effort."

While she wasn't a fan of lying, to say Raven was impressed at the excuse her roommate provided for her would have been an understatement. _"Clever boy."_

"So, Raven," Cyborg took the opportunity to chime in, "what're your plans for today? Quiet time in the ship's library?"

Raven only needed to think for a few seconds before realizing what she really felt like doing at this moment.

"Actually..." the dark sorceress trailed off briefly, looking past her other teammates towards the green shapeshifter as he re-entered the suite. She took a deep breath. "I'll be spending some time with Beast Boy today," she stated as a matter of fact-ly. The reactions came quickly, causing another faint blush to form on her cheeks.

"You are?" Robin arched a brow.

"You are?" Starfire turned to look at the young man in question.

"You are?" Cyborg lifted his sunglasses as he felt his remaining organic eye go wide.

"You are?" Beast Boy's gaze immediately snapped over to her direction. He stopped in his tracks and felt the heat rush to his face as well.

**A/N: Preliminary work on Chapter 5 has begun, so expect that before too long. I appreciate those of you sticking around, as I know this story got off to an unconvential start for the Teen Titans story. Rest assured things only continue to pick up from here. Expect more development with the main plot regarding those stowaways as well as more focus on BBRae and some RobStar as well.**

**As always, a most sincere thank you to all my readers and my longtime beta reader, Wikked Grin. All of you make this possible. Be safe, everyone! :) **


	5. Chapter 5: A Good Day

Teen Titans: Dangerous Waters

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.**

**A/N: Welcome back, again! **

Chapter 5: A Good Day

Today was the first of three full days at sea aboard the _MS Skyward_, typical for a transatlantic voyage. This meant it was the first full day that the ship's passengers would be afforded the opportunity to experience any and all of the amenities the luxury ocean liner had to offer. There would be no shortage of things to do, something for everyone to enjoy.

At least, that's what the online advertisements the Titans found for the ship had promised.

So, with that in mind, Garfield Mark Logan couldn't understand why Raven of all people wanted to come along with him. Not that he minded her company, of course, he just presumed she'd be spending most of the vacation alone. Such was usually her preference, after all. It was the primary reason he had checked out those books for her yesterday, after all.

"Sooo, Raven," the green shapeshifter started as they stepped inside one of the lifts at the forward stairwell, "Anywhere in particular you'd like to go?" he asked her, glancing over to the buttons for the different decks.

"I'll let you decide, as long as it's not something completely out of my comfort zone," she told him. The lift doors were closing at this point, so with a grin far too knowing for Raven's liking, Beast Boy quickly pressed the button for Deck 15, to which Raven quirked a brow.

The empath knew she was taking a risk. Aside from combat situations, she had never allowed someone else to dictate her actions before now. But Beast Boy had proven himself a thoughtful and considerate friend, if at times overbearing and distracted as well. She steeled herself. She would take this leap of faith, and handle whatever came next when it arrived.

Still, she couldn't help but rack her brain for what she saw on Deck 15 yesterday evening during her search for the young man at her side, trying to narrow down where he could be taking her if at all possible. When the elevator stopped and pinged, and the doors slid open, she decided to just ask him.

"Where are we going, Beast Boy?"

"Just keep an open mind, Rae," he replied, without answering the question. "It's something I found yesterday I really think you'll enjoy!" he added as they stepped out of the lift.

His enthusiasm and confidence were good enough signs, Raven decided, but the fact he was purposely keeping their destination a secret didn't sit well with her. As she followed his lead, she recalled the discussion she had in Nevermore the previous night just before going to bed.

_"Oh! I'm sooo happy we made up with BB!" her pink emoticlone cheered and giggled while following along behind her. They had just entered her Knowledge's library._

_"I figured you would be," Raven drolled out with an eyeroll, but she couldn't help but allow herself a faint ghost of a smile for second after the words left her lips. The yellow emoticlone was busy reorganizing some contents on one of the bookshelves, but offered her own insight into the situation._

_"We're definitely fortunate Garfield is so forgiving."_

_"And sweet, and considerate, and fun, and funny, and-" her Happiness chimed in again, and was promptly cut off._

_"Let's not get carried away," the dark sorceress reprimanded her more bouncy and bubbly persona, who merely resumed giggling in response. It was then that her Knowledge finished her present task, and then turned to face her._

_"It's getting pretty late, Raven, and we know Robin's next check-in time is 9:30. I assume, now that the issue with Beast Boy is resolved, you wish to discuss the other matter that's been on your mind as of late?"_

_Raven sighed and took a deep breath, and took a moment to close her eyes and pinch the bridge of her nose. Her logical and intellectual persona was right. Something else had been troubling her, and frustrating her, since last week. With all the activity over the last few days, plus with the recent and more pressing turmoil with Garfield, she'd been quite distracted. The empath had put this off long enough, and truthfully she was still slightly fearful of the answers she might receive, or not receive. Even her Happiness had calmed down for the moment and was now patiently waiting and listening, her eyes darting back and forth between Raven and her yellow-clad counterpart._

_"That intruder who claimed to be able to breach the physical and mental barriers around this place at will: I asked the night it happened if there's anything in here that could shed some light on who he is and what brand of dark magic he has at his disposal. Have you or the others made any progress?"_

_Her heart sank as her Knowledge shook her head with a slight frown._

_"I'm afraid we have very little to go on. Whoever this person is, they apparently have access to an incredibly rare form of dark magic, and there's only a handful of sources we know of that are capable of that level of power," the latter pushed her glasses back up as she stated factually._

_"Their presence was definitely foreboding, but it certainly didn't feel demonic," Raven recollected, furrowing her brows in the process. She was more familiar with the particular brand of dark magic utilized by her father than perhaps anyone else on Earth._

_"Right, and this man didn't leave any demonic taint in my domain, either, so I concluded we could safely rule out demon magic early on," her Knowledge added. Her Happiness spoke up again, next._

_"He didn't hurt any of us, which is good, but it certainly took a lot out of myself and Courage to keep Rage contained until you finally got here and sent him away, hehe," she chuckled slightly._

_"What sources of dark magic can we _not _rule out?" the dark sorceress pressed further. Her logical self took a moment to consider the possibilties._

_"Hmm, well there's shadow magic which can also impact the mind similar to demon magic, but it also would have left traces behind."_

_"Right, so we can probably rule that one out as well. Let's see... I know I first learned about dark magic during my early years on Azarath," Raven recalled, "but not much about it beyond demonic power."_

_"Indeed. Unfortunately for our current situation, the monks prioritized teaching us about demon magic and how to resist it because of our heritage, which of course did make sense at the time," her Knowledge elaborated, "And now, seeing as how the Monks of Azarath are no more and the relics and writings they left behind are kept under lock and key by the Sentinels of Magic, I doubt there's more information to be found back on Azarath if we were to return there now."_

_"Which means if I want to learn more about non-demonic forms of dark magic, I'll have to look for writings and research elsewhere," Raven deduced solemnly. The loss of the monks who essentially raised her and equipped her to resist the vile machinations of her father was still understandably a touchy subject for her. _"Damn you for eternity, Trigon," _she thought bitterly._

_"Oooh! Oooh! Oooooooh!" the pink emoticlone accentuated her abrupt and loud outburst by jumping up and down and waving her arms frantically, pulling the dark sorceress out of her morose reflections. The yellow emoticlone merely blinked._

_"Yes, what is it?" Raven grumbled while rubbing her temples, suddenly feeling a headache coming on._

_"One of the books BB brought us is about magical studies, right? Maybe there's more information about this unfamiliar form of dark magic in there?" Happiness suggested with a big, toothy grin on her face. _

_"It's without doubt a good place to start," Knowledge agreed. _

_Raven nodded as she concurred as well, deciding to begin skimming the large book for any mention of this unfamiliar form of dark magic in the morning after breakfast._

Well, morning had come, and instead of doing what she had intended to, the empath was now being led by her shapeshifter teammate to an unknown location of his choosing, most likely to goof off or waste time rather than doing anything productive. As she followed Beast Boy past the cafe in the solarium, lifting an arm up to help shield her gaze from the bright sun, Raven couldn't help but question why she had gotten into this current situation.

_"It's because you agreed to be a better friend to him,"_ she reminded herself almost instantly. She was grateful when Garfield led her back inside. They were now at the forward section of the ship, and she berated herself for the thoughts she had just a moment ago. _"I may not like the same things he does, but proving to him I can be a good friend is certainly a productive endeavor. I'm a big girl, I can suck it up and power through whatever he wants to do for at least an hour, right?"_

She could put off reading for a little bit longer.

* * *

All the while, down within the number three cargo hold inside one of the larger storage containers, a squad of armed personnel stood guard over a sizable number of deactivated robots. The former were clad in white army trench coats and pants with black combat boots and matching gloves, utility belts, and helmets. The coats concealed cutoff body armor, and the helmets featured built-in respirator masks and lenses that concealed each of their faces. Each of them was armed with high-power repeating rifles and sidearm handguns. One was standing, leaning back against one of the walls of the metal container. Two were seated along the opposite wall, and two more were asleep atop folding mats further back behind the robots; their shift on guard duty would begin at sunset. The deactivated robots were all hunched down and folded into themselves, but were nimble and humanoid in overall shape and design, and were painted gunmetal grey.

The three currently awake and on duty instantly raised their rifles when one of the double doors to the container was unlatched and creaked open slowly, but they promptly lowered them once they caught sight of the new arrival: the man from before in the white suit and fedora.

"Premiere Executor Zunzen, sir!" the uniformed man standing, the squad leader, greeted his superior in a voice just slightly above a whisper.

"At ease, no need for formalities," Zunzen waved the former off, his voice and thick German accent in a similar volume. "I came to inspect the prime unit one last time while the mercenary is out doing recon."

"Of course, sir."

The automaton in question was at the front of the formation of tightly-packed mechanized enforcers. It was also humanoid in shape, but had more stock to its frame, and more distinguishing characteristics. Chief among the latter were eight photoreceptors, or robot eyes, all linked around the head, which of course enable this particular unit to see in all directions at once when activated. Zunzen connected a tablet he pulled from inside his coat to a small USB port just above the top of the neck, opening a concealed compartment in the head to do so.

"If I may, sir, is there something wrong with that unit? It definitely looks newer than the other models," one of the other armed men inquired in a hushed tone from where he sat beside a squadmate. Zunzen promptly answered in the like-manner.

"Nothing yet according to this diagnostic, thankfully. This will be the first mission for our state-of-the-art companion, here. The boss simply doesn't want to take any chances, is all. I've been wired the latest software upgrades and a hotfix I'll install while I'm here as well."

"Two more days, and the fun begins," the squad leader mused. Zunzen merely nodded with an unsettling grin.

* * *

"No way. This is _not_ happening, Beast Boy," Raven could feel her right eye twitch at the sight before her. Garfield had brought her to the arcade and over to one of the 'gamer pods' on the far side of the large room, which was also stocked with numerous interactive, more traditional and contemporary gaming stations throughout, the type more commonly found in arcades.

The 'gamer pods' were unique to the _Skyward_ and her sister ship. They were self-enclosed chambers that stood side-by-side along the far wall of the arcade, each one large enough for just about two or three occupants. The doors to them were locked, and could only be opened via payment transceivers built into their locks, where debit cards and pre-paid cards made at a machine located at the arcade entrance could be swiped. Inside each was a PlayBox 5 gaming system complete with wireless controllers and linked to the internet via satellite. Two lounge chairs were also bolted to the floor inside each chamber, or 'pod.'

"Aw, come on, Rae, you said I could decide what we do as long as it wasn't and I quote 'too far outside your comfort zone,' remember?" her companion reminded her, imploringly.

"And this clearly looks like something outside said proverbial zone," she countered, folding her arms over her chest as she eyed him skeptically. He merely chuckled somewhat nervously, and pulled a card out of his pocket to swipe and open the door. Raven quickly noticed it wasn't a debit card, but one of the pre-paid ones. She arched a brow, "You were planning for this."

"Maybe a little... hehe..." he admitted, pressing a couple buttons and swiping the card as he did so, earning a prompt 'ping' from the device over the lock. The door clicked and opened immediately after. "Oops, looks like I just rented this thing for an hour. Looks like we have no choice but to use it," he grinned cheekily as a bead of sweat ran down the side of his face. He rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. Raven couldn't help but roll her eyes in response. After another awkward moment, Beast Boy sighed and tried explaining his reasoning, "Look, Raven, as I said before I know you don't like crowds. But I read up on these things, the gamer pods; inside is an enclosed space where we can have some privacy. No strangers looking at you, just you and me alone." He seemed to stumble on his words once he realized the implications of what he'd just said, "I mean, yeah, 'alone,' but not 'alone' in any sense of the word other than two friends just hanging out, hehe!"

Raven allowed herself a ghost of a smile for the briefest of moments. But something else still nagged at her, an obvious fact she knew he wasn't oblivious to.

"Beast Boy, you know I don't like video games."

"I know that, Raven, but I really, _really_ think you'll like the game I picked out. You can decide what we do after, I promise, and you can always leave if you don't like it. I won't force you to stay, and we both know I couldn't if I tried, anyway," he reasoned further with a reassuring nod and grin.

The urge to turn on her heel and walk away was still present, but instead the empath closed her eyes for a moment and sighed. Upon reopening them, she stepped into the 'pod,' leaving a shocked Beast Boy stuck in place.

"Are you coming?" she asked him from over her shoulder, snapping him out of his trance. He bounded after her gleefully not a second later.

* * *

Almost three hours had passed when Cyborg arrived at the arcade. The half-man/half-machine had come to scope out the games for himself, and of course check in on Beast Boy. Thanks to updates conferred at the last check-in time half-passed noon, the cybernetic hero knew his green-skinned best friend and the team's resident empath were skipping lunch, which wasn't surprising given their late start that morning.

He also figured by this time Raven had gotten fed up enough with Garfield to leave. A safe bet in his mind, if he were a gambling man.

_"If she managed to stick around in a place like this with Green Bean for up to ten minutes, she will have done more than any of us could have expected of her,"_ he chuckled to himself as he took in his surroundings, walking over to the gamer pods. He pulled out his communicator and activated the tracker to determine which of the pods his pal was in, and his remaining organic eye widened when he saw that _two_ signals responded in close proximity. _"Wait, is she actually still here? Or did she just leave her comm behind?"_ he was surprised as he pictured the possible first answer to that question.

What Victor Stone saw after knocking on the door to the 'pod' stopped him completely in his tracks.

* * *

Raven hadn't expected to actually _like_ the game Beast Boy had picked out for the two of them, and never would have in a million years. Never in her wildest imagination would she have ever found the prospect of sitting in a chair and mashing buttons on a handheld controller enjoyable. But that's precisely what she and Garfield had done for the better part of the last three hours.

She initially scoffed when he pulled up the game in question on the screen. It was titled 'Northheim', and was in the action/adventure, fantasy role-playing genre. Her companion currently holding the Player 2 controller called it an 'rpg,' which Raven recognized from his descriptions of some of his other favorite games.

Overall, this game was based loosely on Norse culture and folklore, and included a few different playable races such as humans, elves, and trolls. Character abilities included a lot of magical powers, which caught Raven's attention. In the end, the rich lore and mystical atmosphere of the game had pulled her in, and she could tell Beast Boy knew. She had caught more than a few of his triumphant smirks in her peripheral.

She had also caught herself smiling more times than she would have liked. No doubt she would be hearing from him about that later. Right now, though, he just seemed to be savoring what must've felt like a once-in-a-lifetime experience to him.

"I'm impressed, Raven! You just unlocked your fourth skill tree, and you're not even at Level 10, yet!"

"I guess I'm getting the hang of this, then," she mused with another faint smile, "Okay, you got the tablet, right?"

"Yes, milady!" he told her, mimicking his character in the game.

"Then let's get back to town and turn the quest in," she replied.

The knock on the door behind them prompted them to pause the game, and Beast Boy was the one to get up and answer it. The large silhouette visible through the tinted window on the door was a giveaway as to who it was on the other side.

"Oh hey, Cy! What's up?" the green shapeshifter inquired. The mechanized young man in question merely stared wide-eyed for a moment, his jaw hung open comically. Raven _felt_ his stare without even turning to face him, and she pulled her hood over her head, her cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

_"He better not say a word to Robin and Starfire,"_ she thought ruefully.

"Uh, you in there, Tin Can?" Beast Boy chuckled as he reached up and gently knocked on the robotic half of his best friend's head. Cyborg snapped out of the apparent trance he was in a second later.

"Ah, right! I figured I'd check and see how you were doing, BB. Plus I wanted to see what kinds of games they got in this place. Not a bad selection, really," he paused for a moment and raised his remaining brow at the dark sorceress, quizzically. She still hadn't turned to face him, or even acknowledge him. Vic couldn't help but smirk to himself, knowing her well enough to recognize when she was flustered. "Say, Raven, what're you still doing here? Lose a bet with Grass Stain or something?" he laughed.

An extra set of eyes on her at this time was more than Raven was prepared to handle, so the empath abruptly shot to her feet and quickly excused herself, lowering her head and keeping the rim of her hood tucked over it.

"I should be going, there's something back in the cabin I need to take care of," she informed the other two as she walked past them. It wasn't a lie; she suddenly remembered she needed to get started on that book. She was grateful to have a legitimate reason to get out of there. Beast Boy called after her.

"Rae, are you okay?" he asked, obviously concerned judging by his tone.

"I'm sorry, Raven," Cyborg quickly interjected, "I didn't mean anything-"

"It's fine, there's no reason for either of you to be worried. I just need to go now," and she strode off without another word, putting more pace in her step as she did so.

Garfield glared at Victor after another awkward moment of silence. The latter promptly waved his hands in front of himself defensively.

"Hey, I didn't mean anything by it, I swear! I'm sorry man, I wasn't intending to scare her off like that. Usually you're the one that does that, am I right? Hehe."

Beast Boy felt his expression soften and he let out a chuckle at that. He had to concede that Chrome Dome had a point.

"It's fine, Cy. I know you weren't trying to mess anything up. To be honest, I'm just as surprised as you are that she stuck around here this long."

"It's definitely unlike her. You didn't put anything in her tea this morning, did you?" the half man/half machine leaned into the shapeshifter and elbowed the latter jokingly, prompting more laughter from the both of them.

"I'm not sure what caused this," Garfield admitted, "But she was smiling! It wasn't wide or big or anything but she was definitely smiling, and she did it more than once. I've waited years for her to do that while spending time alone with me! I finally did it, man!" he exclaimed proudly while pumping his fist in the air triumpantly.

Cyborg merely nodded, another smirk forming as he glanced over in the direction Raven had departed. He still didn't know what to make of this, either, but he was genuinely happy for his friend.

"If I know Raven, she'll likely spend the next hour or so meditating, which means you won't mind if I make my own character on this thing and take over for her?" the half-machine hero inquired while pointing a thumb back at the gaming console. Beast Boy nodded as a new grin formed on his face.

"Game on, dude!"

* * *

About another hour and a half passed. Raven had only just begun perusing the heavy encyclopedia on sorcery her roommate had brought her the previous night. Her meditation had done her some good as it always did, but now, with any luck, some answers regarding the type of magic utilized by her most unwelcome visitor could be found within these pages. Violet eyes looked back and forth as she read through the table of contents, scrolling down and over the first few pages inside the front cover. She read through the alphabetical list of magic types featured in the book, and her heart sank when she passed through the entire index without finding a single form of dark magic that seemed applicable. After letting out a forlorn sigh, she decided to start looking through the list a second time, just in case she missed something. After almost another five minutes, now that she wasn't looking for anything specific, there was finally something that caught her eye.

_"Prodromus"_

It was the Latin word for 'harbinger,' that she knew. That said, she also felt a deep, sinking, foreboding feeling as she read it in her mind. She flipped through the pages until she came upon the single one dedicated to this brand of magic, or rather as she found out, the brand of magic associated with this word.

_"Among a few of those who studied the magical arts during the Dark and Middle Ages, there had been whispers of a secret order of people who utilized a unique form of dark magic that originated in a dominion of nightmares beyond our physical realm. Some believed entities from this place shared their power with mortals who curried their favor, usually through ritualistic sacrifices or cult worship. The true nature of this purported form of dark magic has not been verified by official sources, nor has its name. The alleged members of this hedonistic order kept the details as closely-guarded secrets, and no successful outside research exists. As of this publication, there are no known speculated or confirmed living practicioners of this form of magic. Supposedly, the order was wiped out by the fabled Knights Judicium before the end of the fifteenth century, anno domini."_

The mention of 'nightmares' had certainly stuck with the empath, given its mental connotations, but without more information she couldn't be completely certain _this_ was the power she was looking for. She needed to find more information, somewhere else. A soft knock at her door interrupted her thoughts. She already knew who it was.

"Yes, Beast Boy?"

"Uh, Raven, are you done with your meditation? I can come back later if you're not," he spoke timidly, as if second guessing himself with every word.

"No, it's fine. I'm done meditating," she told him quickly, and then inquired as she closed the book and set it down, "Is there something you need?"

"Well, I know you told Cy and me not to worry back at the arcade, but I still feel bad you had to leave so sudden-"

"It's not your fault, Beast Boy, so there's no reason to feel bad," she interrupted him. She didn't like that she affected him in this way. _"It's because he cares...,"_ she remembered her Knowledge's words from the previous night.

"I know, but I still do, so I made you some tea..."

That caught her off-guard. She pulled herself up off her bed and walked over to the door and opened it. Sure enough, her friend, teammate, and temporary roommate was standing on the other side, holding a steaming, freshly-brewed cup of tea in his hands. He smiled at her surprised expression.

"You don't even drink tea," she reminded him once her eyes met his.

"I know, but I've seen you make it enough times to get a general idea of how it's made. At least, I hope so, hehe," he replied, chuckling slightly at the end.

Gingerly, she took the cup from his hands and slowly raised it to her lips. Then, she took one experimental sip. Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head as she suppressed her gag reflex, and swallowed the miniscule amount of the beverage with visible strain and an audible gulp a moment later.

"That... was..." she started hesitantly, struggling with the bitter taste in her mouth.

"That bad, huh?" he moped as his ears drooped and his face fell. He also took a couple steps back, anticipating her getting angry at him for wasting some of the tea she had brought in her luggage.

After closing her eyes for a moment and pinching the bridge of her nose, Raven sighed and regarded him with a neutral expression.

"Garfield, you need to learn how to prepare tea properly before ever attempting to make it again."

"Raven, wha-?"

"Come on," she grabbed his hand with one of her own and pulled him over to the kitchenette of their suite, intent on making him get this right. He said nothing and allowed her to lead him, following along wide-eyed.

It had taken some time, but finally, under her instruction Beast Boy had made a tea that was serviceable, and she had little doubt he would improve with practice. Now they sat across from one another at the cafe table adjacent to the kitchenette, enjoying two freshly-prepared cups of the beverage.

"So, Raven, would you say this counts as the thing we do next that you get to choose?" he asked her with a sly grin on his face.

"I suppose," she told him, allowing another brief smile, this time into her cup as she raised it.

* * *

Simultaneously, down inside a dimly-lit storage room adjacent to the number five cargo hold, a black-gloved hand placed an unused bullet still within its shell casing against the top of the slanted front of an old-fashioned, damaged wooden writing desk. The fingers holding the bullet in place let go, and it promptly rolled down the front of the desk until it reached and fell off the end, where the same hand caught it.

The armored mercenary from before repeated the motions, and caught the bullet again, and again, and again. As he did this, he was laying back on a stack of carboard boxes, his head leaning over lazily on his right shoulder. The metal door to the room creaked open slowly, and he reflexively reached for his sidearm, only to relax upon seeing who it was.

"That white suit and hat is a dead giveaway to your identity," the hired gun mused aloud in a disinterested tone, "fortunately for you," he added.

"What can I say? I have a particular sense of style," Zunzen chuckled. The prospect of being shot at didn't faze him in the slightest. He tossed the mercenary a ration pack, and the latter caught it with their free hand. "I got some water here for you as well."

"Much obliged," the armored soldier-for-hire acknowledged as he caught the bullet as it rolled off the desk one last time. He set his meager dinner down for a moment and placed the single round back inside the ammo clip for his sidearm M11 pistol.

"Pretty cozy digs you found here, Grimmourn," the well-dressed man teased as he sat down on another box beside his associate and handed them a thermos. He took a moment to look around. There were a couple of sets of broken gym equipment, some pieces of frayed rope, and cafe chairs with torn cushions among numerous other objects, furnishings, and both cardboard and wooden boxes. Some of this stuff was also covered over with tarps. Evidently, this was the room where damaged items from around the ship were brought to either await repair or disposal.

"I'm going stir crazy, here," Grimmourn retorted, peeling open his ration packet. He still hadn't taken off the helmet that concealed his face.

"First time playing stowaway?" Zunzen inquired as he pulled out a packet for himself from inside his coat.

"No, I've just never liked it," the black-clad mercenary clarified. Zunzen nodded before offering his words of encouragement.

"Well, buck up. Just think of how much sweeter it will feel once you get back to shooting people for money. The boss said he wanted the best along with us for this mission. Some in our organization vouched for Deathstroke, but he was rather insistent on you given the success of your last job for us."

"Then when it comes to hiring an extra set of trigger fingers, your boss is a smart shopper. I'll put up with and do what I'm paid for, nothing more and nothing less," was all Grimmourn said in reply, his tone assured and resolute.

Beside the soldier-for-hire, Zunzen said nothing more, but licked his lips in anticipation of the violence to come as he stared off into space. Grimmourn merely rolled his eyes in response.

* * *

Later still, after the sun had set and the Titans reunited for dinner, Beast Boy and Raven returned to their suite. Dinner had gone well enough, with the team recounting the events of the day. Raven had even allowed Beast Boy to let Robin and Starfire know she had gone with him to the arcade and stayed for a good while, a fact which understandably had taken the team leader and alien princess by surprise just as much as it had Cyborg. Starfire had apparently taken Robin for an afternoon at the ship's spa, something the latter only acquiesced to when she used her puppy dog eyes on him, a technique of "persuasion" she had learned some time ago from Beast Boy. In hindsight, the Boy Wonder admitted a day of relaxing had done him some good, much to the happiness of his vindicated girlfriend.

All in all, it had been a good day for everyone it seemed, but Garfield still had something he wanted to ask his roommate.

_"It's now or never I suppose_," he told himself. _"Come on, just do it! This is strictly as friends, easy peasy!"_ he egged himself on. "Hey... Raven?"

"Yes?" she turned to face him. They stood in the now-familiar parlor or living room portion of their suite.

_"Okay, deep breaths," _he reminded himself, "As I'm sure you remember tomorrow's the ball, the whole reason we're on this big boat in the first place..."

"Yeah..." She knew what was coming. That didn't mean she was looking forward to it. A ball was a social event, with a lot of people present. Not her cup of tea, pun intended.

"So...," her friend continued, "I was wondering, since the theme for events like this is partners, maybe it would go smoother for the both of us if we just went together?" he inquired cautiously, amending a second later, "As friends, of course!"

Raven snapped to attention as his words hit home. She hadn't been expecting this, but paused to consider it after a moment. A faint dusting of pink twinged her cheeks after a moment. Her teammate on the other hand was practically beet red in the face, his thumbs twiddling anxiously.

"I'm sorry, Garfield," she started her reply earnestly, "but as I'm sure you know by now, today was a whirlwind for me with unexpected and new experiences. I'm afraid topping it off now may be too much for me to handle. I'll have to think about it, but I'll let you know my answer as soon as I do. I... I hope you understand."

Beast Boy would be lying if he said he didn't feel dejected and disappointed, but he understood. She wasn't telling him 'no' outright, and of course he knew today had to have been taxing for her. She needed him to be patient with her right now, and he was willing to try. She'd made a couple leaps of faith for him today, after all. He owed her at least that.

"I understand, Raven," he replied sincerely. "Just let me know later. I'm off to get ready for bed."

"I should as well. Goodnight, Beast Boy," she told him, her violet eyes shining in the dim lighting of the room. A slight twinge of uncertainty and fear was in them.

"Goodnight, Raven," he said back to her, his own green orbs eyeing hers carefully, reassuringly.

A little over forty five minutes later, Garfield emerged from the bathroom adjacent to his bedroom and turned off the lamp on the nightstand as he tucked himself in. He had to close the blinds to the veranda outside this evening since it was almost a full moon out; something the Beast always took notice of.

A knock at his door caused him to lift his head up ever so slightly.

"Raven? What is it?" he inquired.

"Yes. My answer is yes," her muffled voice told him from the other side.

He laid his head back down with a wide, delighted, incredulous grin on his face. Raven, meanwhile, was grateful he couldn't see her flushed face.

**A/N: As always a most sincere thank you to all of my readers, and of course my beta reader, Wikked Grin. I would also like to give him some extra acknowledgement for helping me with the ending of this chapter. He's the one who introduced me to the Teen Titans in the first place, so in many ways he's just as responsible for this story as I am. **

**The next chapter is already in progress, and will likely be out sometime next month. It's the last one before the action starts, and that's when the overall tone of this story will shift considerably. Fair warning to all of you right now. **

**Once more and as always, be safe and be well, everyone. Please don't take any unnecessary risks in these troubling times. I wish all of you the best. :)**


	6. Chapter 6: Belle of the Ball

Teen Titans: Dangerous Waters

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.**

**A/N: Welcome back, everyone! We've finally arrived at the ball, and suffice to say this is another chapter for the shippers. Enjoy, because this is where the fluff ends for this particular story.**

Chapter 6: Belle of the Ball

Of all the things she knew she would be getting into on this unplanned vacation, Raven had been dreading the high society gala that was currently set to begin in about an hour above all else. Everything else the empath had put herself through up to this point on this ship had been entirely her own choice, but the ball was completely out of her hands, as she had learned to her chagrin. The empath emerged from the bathroom in her stateroom, having just finished drying her hair. Her brows were furrowed in consternation; the yellow bathrobe she was currently wearing was much too brightly colored for her liking. It also reminded her of that dress of the same color she had been forced to wear while mind-controlled during that incident with Mother Mae-Eye awhile back.

At her request, after first arriving on the ship, Robin had been kind enough to go to the guest relations desk in the grand atrium and ask if there was any way she could abstain from participating in the ball, but it seemed the terms regarding their stay on the ship left no room for negotiation: all five of the Teen Titans were expected to attend, and the event's organizers would be present and know to look for them.

Raven saw little merit in this endeavor. In her experience good deeds alone often weren't enough to persuade people set in their ways, and if the city council was intent on cutting off funding for Titans Tower, she figured it would only be a matter of time before that came to pass, regardless of what she and her teammates did to prove their continued worth to Jump City.

_"Heh, Star would just accuse me of being 'the negative grumpy grumps' if I voiced these thoughts out loud to the team,"_ the dark sorceress mused with a slight smirk as she pulled the dress she had bought for the occasion out of the closet in her stateroom. It had occurred to Raven that this would be the first time she had ever donned such formal attire, and she was grateful she had at least been allowed to pick a gown tailored to her personal sense of style.

She had just laid the dress in question out on the bed when she heard a firm knocking at the door. "Yes?" she promptly responded.

"Friend Raven?" the alien princess on the other side called out. "Are you, as an Earth girl would say, the decent?"

Raven had to resist a good-natured eyeroll at the question. She and the guys had learned early on in their time together as a team that Tamaraneans were much less prudish in regards to nudity than humans, and Starfire had in-turn learned to knock before barging into private spaces.

"I am, Starfire. You can come in; it's unlocked."

Starfire entered the room not a moment later. During the team's afternoon at Jump City's downtown mall the day prior to their departure, the alien princess had opted for a strapless mermaid gown that was hot pink in color and embroidered with cubic zirconium diamonds, and she had of course bought a set of matching heels. Her long and silken red hair was fastened into a large braid that stretched down to its usual length. She almost seemed to glow, which was obviously quite typical and fitting for her.

"How do I look, friend? Be honest," she inquired, her trademark warm and genuine smile blazoned on her face.

"It may not be my style, but you look amazing, Star," Raven told her friend earnestly. "I'm sure Robin will be left speechless at the sight of you, assuming he hasn't already," she added with a chuckle. Star's smile promptly morphed into a grin.

"Oh, he definitely has already," she informed the empath with a giggle. It was then that Starfire got a good look at the chosen attire of her present teammate. She smiled warmly in approval. "It is the most gorgeous of the ensembles you have chosen, Friend Raven! I suspect Friend Beast Boy will be rendered quite the speechless as well once he sees it upon you!"

The alien princess hadn't meant anything off-handed in her observation, but the implications still caused a faint blush to appear on Raven's face. The dark sorceress averted her gaze, hoping her friend hadn't seen, and she mentally cursed herself in the process.

"Thanks, Star..." she mumbled, "But Garfield assured me this is just to be an outing as friends. Nothing more and nothing less," she added, clarifying. The redhead wasn't convinced. She offered a retort with her trademark enthusiastic grin.

"That may be so, but it also doesn't mean something cannot... what's the word? Oh yes! The 'blossom' between the two of you."

"Starfire, please, this is _Beast Boy_ we're talking about," the empath rolled her eyes with a scoff as she shifted her focus back to her friend, her flushed face finally abating. Starfire's own face fell back into neutral as she continued. "Just because we had a good time together yesterday doesn't mean I'm going to start having romantic feelings for him, and he knows that. I know he's smarter than he lets on at times."

"I'm sorry, friend," the other girl amended, "I do not mean to do the presumption, I just-"

"It's okay, Star, no harm done," Raven reassured her, before adding further, "Even if I had a type, he just wouldn't be it."

"A 'type?'" Starfire was visibly confused. English was her second language, after all.

"As in, the type of boy I would be interested in, romantically-speaking," the empath clarified further. "Besides..." her voice fell as she began to recollect something rather unpleasant, "I've learned from experience it doesn't pay for me to put my heart on the line."

The alien's eyes went wide in realization as she quickly caught on to what her friend was referring to. Her tone shifted to one of concern and remorse, "Oh, Raven..."

"I told you it's fine, Star. You didn't say anything wrong. Believe me, I'm happy for you and Robin, and I hope you both have a great time tonight. But, everyone is different, and I just don't think I'm right for a thing like romance." _"And certainly not least of all because of my lineage,"_ Raven couldn't help but add silently as she finished.

Now it was her turn for her eyes to go wide as she felt her friend envelop her in a tight hug. Despite her normal aversion to physical contact, she returned the gesture slightly after a moment.

* * *

"I don't know if I can go through with this, man," Beast Boy stated as he paced about his temporary bedroom nervously.

"Dude, relax. You told me you two were just going to this thing as friends, remember?" his cybernetic best friend tried reassuring him.

The green shapeshifter took a deep breath in an attempt to calm his jittering nerves. He was already dressed in his finery for the evening, a tuxedo suit complete with shirt and tie he picked out with help from Robin. Apparently their team leader had to attend a few fancy parties alongside his former mentor in Gotham years back, and had some experience with the dress code. The jacket that went with the tux was currently splayed over the back of the chair that stood at the desk beside the bed.

"I know, man. It's just, this is different from just casually hanging out, ya know?" he countered. "This is... I dunno... "

"More of a date-like setting?" Cyborg chimed in teasingly, curling his remaining eyebrow in the process.

"Please don't say that!" Beast Boy pleaded with an audible groan. Victor merely gave a hearty chuckle in response before trying again.

"Seriously, relax already. If you overthink this you'll make a mess of things for sure. I mean, it's not like you actually think about Raven in _that_ way, right?" He nudged his friend playfully, but Garfield's denial was not forthcoming, and so Cyborg felt his organic eye go wide. "Dude..."

Beast Boy's blush said it all.

"It's not what it looks like, Cy!" he stammered promptly while waving his hands in front of himself, before breaking off into an uncomfortable silence and letting out another deep sigh after a moment. "I don't know how I feel about, Raven, to be honest. She's still such a mystery, but lately... and after everything that happened yesterday and the night before that..." he trailed off and looked down as Victor placed a hand on his shoulder, gently and reassuringly.

"I get it, man," the cybernetic hero stated simply, and took a moment to think carefully about what he should say. He was still unsure when he continued, "Hey, it's probably just a crush, anyway. It might go away in time."

That didn't make Beast Boy feel much better, understandably.

"I'd honestly intended to ask her to this thing as just friends, and that's what I did. I just... I don't want to mess this night up... and I know I mess things up a lot..."

"Beast Boy... you can't-"

"I'm afraid, Cy. What if this does turn out to be more than some crush, ya know? The last time I had any interest in a girl... she wound up dead..."

Cyborg could only imagine the heartache his best friend was feeling right about now. The pain in his voice was clear as day. Memories of the immense depression the latter went through following Terra's betrayal and subsequent demise played through his mind. It took weeks and a combined effort from everyone on the team to bring the green shapeshifter back to a semblance of his former self. Cyborg knew Beast Boy still blamed himself, as irrational as it was.

"Look man, like I said, you're overthinking this. Just approach this like you did with her yesterday, and you'll be fine."

"You think?" a glimmer of hope returned to Garfield's voice as he looked up.

"Hell yeah!" was the cybernetic hero's immediate reply. "You got that girl to sit down with you and play a video game for three hours yesterday, remember? After seeing that, I'm pretty much convinced nothing is impossible," he finished with another chuckle.

Beast Boy couldn't contain the smile and laugh that followed.

* * *

It was about ten minutes later when Garfield emerged from his stateroom, all dressed up with only one place to go, and one person to go there with. The second he stepped out of the doorway, a familiar monotone called his attention.

"You know Beast Boy, it's rude to keep a lady waiting."

"Hehe, sorry Raven. I-" the green shapeshifter felt his own voice get caught in his throat as his eyes settled on her.

Raven's gown was a a mixture of dark purple and rouge in color, and stretched from her neckline to mid-calf. It also had cut shoulders and laced long sleeves. Her feet retreated into a set of matching heels, and her fingernails had been painted in black polish. A matching choker adorned her neck, and her lavender hair was done in its usual every day style, but her companion couldn't care less about that. He knew she was already stepping outside her comfort zone as it was, despite the brave face she put on. Beast Boy was well aware this was the first time he was seeing her in a dress, and he successfully closed his jaw shut again after a moment.

The empath couldn't help but shuffle her feet about nervously. Garfield had always been pretty open with projecting what he was feeling and she had picked up on his emotions a lot more easily than the others ever since they formed the team. This moment was no exception to that norm. She would have averted her gaze had she not focused intently on his own appearance before she could stop herself. She had to admit, he could actually clean himself up quite well.

Beast Boy's tuxedo suit was navy blue in color, now complete with the tailed jacket. A matching tie was draped over a red formal, buttoned-up shirt, and his feet were resting comfortably in a large pair of black, formal pleather shoes. His green alpine hair still had some tuffs in it, but it had also been combed to the side neatly. The tinge of pink on his cheeks seemed to mirror hers perfectly, and the shades intensified when her violet eyes locked with his emerald ones.

"Ahem," Raven cleared her throat, as she found herself eager to end the awkward silence. Her companion snapped out of his trance in an instant.

"Umm... you look great, Raven," he told her sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck as he did so. A ghost of a smile tugged at her lips for a second.

"Thank you, Garfield. You didn't do so bad sprucing up yourself," she told him sincerely, earning his trademark wide grin from him in return. It was then that a firm knocking at the door to their suite drew their attention away from one another.

The green shapeshifter hero was the one who strode over to open it, with his reserved, shy, magic using teammate coming along behind him. Sure enough, the rest of their team was on the other side to greet them.

"Are you both all set?" Robin inquired as he looked them once over, and they nodded. "Good, then we'd better head out and get this over with."

"Lookin' good, you two," Cyborg couldn't help but tease, causing the both of them to look away in opposite directions. Luckily, Starfire could always be counted on.

"Oh yes, Friend Cyborg is the correct! You both look the fabulous! Now let's go! The charity sphere awaits us!"

The alien princess looked over as her boyfriend offered her his arm with a smile, which she accepted happily with a feminine giggle. They departed first and Cyborg did so after them. Finally looking back to his roommate, Beast Boy echoed their team leader and offered Raven his arm as well. She eyed him quizzically.

"If we're going to this thing together, we may as well do it right, right? Hehehe," he reasoned, half-hearted and nervously.

As if on cue, the dark sorceress rolled her eyes, but acquiesced to his offer a second later, startling him for a second. Then they stepped out, closed the door behind themselves, and followed their teammates into the unknown.

* * *

The Crown Royal Ballroom was one of the most opulent locations on board the _MS Skyward_. At the center was a large, glossed mahogany wooden dance floor, with smooth marble columns on both sides connecting from the floor to the ceiling, which held up numerous intricate golden chandeliers. The largest of these was hanging smack dab in the middle of the ballroom over the dance floor. Numerous chairs and couches with deep red cushions and adorned in brass along with similarly-decorated tables lined the outside of the dance floor adjacent to large circular windows that allowed wide views of the moonlit ocean waves on either side of the ship, and the star-studded night sky above. At the far side of the ballroom was a stage made of strong, solid oak dressed in curtains of the same deep red color as the seating arrangements. A black and white grand piano stood off to the right side on the stage, and beside it across the stage were numerous seats and stands that held sheet music. Other musical instruments including but not limited to a cello, violins, a tuba, and trumpets were all present, as were the neatly-dressed band that was presently playing them. It was the sweet sounds of lavish, high society classical music that filled the air and permeated throughout the ballroom, and a plethora of couples and partygoers were already present, some dancing along to the melody, while others were seated comfortably and conversing over drinks and hors d'oeuvres.

It was into this myriad of glitz and glamor along with social interaction that the Teen Titans entered. First Robin and Starfire, the picturesque couple still linked at the arm, followed by Cyborg, and behind him was Beast Boy and Raven, no longer linked at the arm but still side-by-side. Some of the other partygoers took notice of them instantly, as was to be expected. It was the first time that a team of superheroes attended this annual event, after all. At once, a man, one of the well-dressed partygoers raised his hands and started clapping, and it wasn't long before his date and countless others joined in, their applause heralding the arrival of the team. Robin smiled and nodded politely in acknowledgement, while Cyborg, Starfire, and Beast Boy all took on wide grins and waved appreciatively. Raven, meanwhile, lowered her head shyly, silently wishing she could just retreat into her cloak like she normally would. But she couldn't; it had been left back in the closet in her stateroom. Garfield seemed to notice this as he glanced over at her, and his expression fell and his eyes grew soft.

It was when the applause died down that a fair-skinned Latina woman in a red gown approached the team, and she promptly introduced herself.

"Greetings, Titans. I am Gloria Gonzalez, the Voyage Director on the _Skyward_. I was told to expect your arrival."

"Hello, Ms. Gonzalez," Robin nodded again as he shook her hand, "Where's the Deputy Mayor?"

"He is currently backstage with a couple of the organizers," was her reply, "We still have about an hour until the commemoration speech, so please feel free to enjoy yourselves in the meantime. Just head on backstage half past the hour and he'll call you out once he starts speaking. I'll be over at the seating area just off to the right of the stage if you need anything."

And with that she walked away, leaving the five superheroes to the festivities at hand.

"I'm off to sample one of everything at looks good at the serving table!" Cyborg told his teammates enthusiastically. He was already walking away before he finished speaking.

Robin separated from Starfire and took a step back, extending his hand to her. She eyed him curiously.

"Well then, may I have this dance, my lady?" he asked her charmingly. She beamed at him affectionately and accepted his hand gladly, and promptly followed him over to the dance floor.

The empath looked over at her companion for the evening, who in-turn eyed her curiously. She allowed herself to sigh; she was convinced she knew what he was thinking. She saw him glance in its direction, after all.

"If you want to gorge yourself over at the serving table with Cyborg, don't let me stop you," she stated simply, and was surprised when he shook his head with a soft smile.

"Tempting, but nah," was his straightforward reply. He then looked off to their left and continued, "Come on, I think I saw a spot open up over there."

Raven understood what he meant a few moments later when they arrived at one of the leatherback couches along the wall, just to the right of one of the large windows. It was a bit more secluded than one might expect, several feet away from other seating arrangements. A low wooden table also adorned in brass was positioned in front of it, and was the only other thing in the immediate vicinity. The dark sorceress took a seat, and so did Beast Boy beside her.

"Any particular reason we're over here, now?" she asked him in her usual monotone. The volume of the voices in the crowd around them along with the music were both dampened now that they had put some distance in between them. The latter also made it a bit easier on Raven, she noticed immediately, since the whirlwind of emotions that came from large gatherings of people was of course the main reason she didn't like crowds.

"I know you don't like crowds," he told her in a soft and sympathetic voice, as if reading her thoughts. "I knew coming here that you'd definitely want to be somewhere to lessen the impact of feeling things from all these people, right?" She nodded slowly in reply, both perplexed but grateful he had this insight about her. About a minute ago she had been on the cusp of a sharp headache, but now the sensation was comparatively a dull roar. He smiled at her again, evidently pleased his intuition was correct. He then spoke up again, this time with a hint of enthusiasm. His confidence was coming back now, it seemed. "So I'm thinking that you can wait here if you want, and I'll quickly go see what looks good at the serving table. Don't worry, I'll bring you back something if I think you'll like it! Is that okay with you?" he asked her, not wanting to just get up and leave without explaining his reasoning. He didn't want her to feel like he was ditching her, after all.

"I don't mind, Garfield. Thank you," she gave him another coveted, brief smile while reassuring him, prompting yet another wide grin from himself in return.

"Okay, be right back!" he bounded off from where he sat at once. She let herself close her eyes and shake her head slightly at his antics, but the smile returned to her lips as she did so.

* * *

At half past the hour, the Titans reassembled and made their way backstage as previously instructed. Robin had met him once before earlier in the voyage, but this was the first time the other four met with Mayor Zaman's second, Deputy Mayor Darby Keehan. The well-dressed, red-headed caucasian male shook each of their hands one by one.

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Titans. I spoke with Mayor Zaman a couple hours ago. He wanted me to assure you each of the three commissioners will be receiving a transcript of tonight's proceedings in the morning."

"Thank you, Mr. Keehan. We're ready when you are," Robin nodded as he informed the local-level politician.

"The sooner the better," Cyborg added.

"I agree," Keehan returned the gesture before asking, "I'll go warm up the audience for you five. Is your speech ready, Robin?"

"It is. I just finished it this afternoon," was the prompt reply from the former Boy Wonder.

"Excellent, now just wait here for your cue."

For the next several minutes, the Deputy Mayor of Jump City was true to his word in warming up the crowd. He talked about each of the nonprofits in the city benefiting from the money raised in the months leading up to the ball, and briefly about what were the best things about the city according to himself and his husband, and he used that opportunity to work in a clever joke about rice-a-roni that had Beast Boy laughing along with most of the partygoers. It was after that when he shifted gears toward the team of superheroes, and gave them their awaited cue:

"Mayor Zaman very much wanted to be here tonight, but in his place he sent five of our city's finest. No introductions are necessary, but I would be remiss if I didn't introduce them, anyway. Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming onto the stage, the Teen Titans!"

At once, the couple hundred or so passengers in the ballroom erupted into another applause, and it was louder than the one from before that had greeted them. Some cheers were even thrown into this mix this time around. A stagehand pulled back the curtain and the heroes strode out onto the stage. Each of them waved with one hand appreciatively as they made their way over to the podium, even Raven, albeit meekly.

Keehan shook Robin's hand again, this time for the crowd, and then stepped off to the side, allowing the team leader control of the stage. Starfire looked on with a glimmer of pride on her eyes as her boyfriend pulled a set of notecards from his coat pocket, and cleared his throat.

"Good evening, everyone. As I'm sure most of you know, my team and I have been operating out of our tower in Jump City for a little over three years, now. A lot has happened in that time," he looked directly into the audience as he spoke, his voice confident and assured, "We've faced many enemies, some tougher than others, but we've never wavered from our commitment to keeping the citizens of the city safe. And now, I do believe we've come to see Jump City as our home, same as yours," his tone shifted into something more lighthearted as he continued, and he glanced over at this girlfriend, and then to the rest of his teammates. "After all, a home is more than just a place you reside. A home is place where you feel a sense of belonging, with the people you care about." Robin allowed the corners of his mouth to curl up as he saw Starfire clasp her hands and lace her fingers together, her warm smile beaming at him. Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Raven all nodded with appreciative smiles of their own. He then turned back to the audience and finished, "A home is a place you're willing to protect, because it just means that much to you. Which is why I know my team and I will never relent in our pursuit of justice for everyone who calls Jump City home, and anywhere else where we are needed. And that is also why each of us is proud to be standing up here tonight, because charity means doing what's right above all else, and that is a cause we can all stand together in support of, no matter what challenges the future holds. As long as we believe in our home and each other, good will always prevail!"

The crowd burst into yet another round of applause, but this time it was the loudest and longest of the night. The deputy mayor clapped in approval as well, and for the first time in days Robin felt some confidence in his team's situation. There was no way the city council would force them out now, not with the people on their side. The young man took a couple steps back and off to the right as the applause and cheers settled down once more, allowing Keehan to return and take back over from there.

"All right, one heck of a speech If I do say so myself. I think I speak for everyone here when I say our city can sleep better at night knowing brave and accomplished young heroes like these five have our backs."

The fourth round of applause from the audience indicated they agreed with the deputy mayor's assessment. For the five superheroes, it was as if a heavy weight was being lifted off their shoulders. The good cheer was infectious for Raven in particular. Perhaps she could allow herself to hope after all, if only for one night.

* * *

Raven later blamed the effects of feeling that overwhelming good cheer for why she accepted one dance and one dance only with her escort for the evening. There was _no_ way she would have otherwise agreed when he asked her, she told herself.

Beast Boy was on a roll tonight, as far as he was concerned, and his good spirits at this point likely couldn't have gone higher. Not only had he actually managed to find something Raven enjoyed at the serving table, he was able to sit and converse with her for over half an hour without putting his foot completely in his mouth. Now, he just had to make it through one dance with her. Frankly he was still surprised she actually said 'yes,' but he wasn't going to push his luck by asking her why.

When the band shifted gears and began playing another classical piece in triple time, Garfield immediately knew what dance to try. He steeled his nerves and did his best to recall the last time he performed it. It had been almost several years. Once they were on the dance floor, the familiar monotone of his companion pulled him from his thoughts.

"You get this one warning: don't step on my feet," she told him flatly, to which he chuckled with that familiar grin.

"I wouldn't dream of it," he replied, daring to place his right arm around her just above her waist, and take her left hand in his own and raise them aloft, about shoulder-height.

Raven's eyes conveyed her continued skepticism as he began to lead her, but after a moment they widened in surprise. She caught herself before her mouth could fall open in disbelief, but the shock and awe was still present nonetheless. She couldn't believe that Beast Boy of all people was leading her in the waltz, and he wasn't even doing a half-bad job of it, either. He seemed to notice her surprise, and his grin returned, wider than before. She suddenly felt flustered, seeing how proud of himself he was, like he knew this would happen. Still, she kept up with him in near-perfect sync, but felt an explanation was due once she collected her thoughts.

"How on Earth do you know how to do this?" she tried, and failed to keep her disbelief out of her voice. She berated herself mentally for that.

"Back in my days with the Doom Patrol when I was still pretty young, I had to go to a couple of these things while I was in the care of Mento and Elastigirl. She was the one who taught me, actually," he confessed. "Seems I'm not as rusty as I thought I'd be," he added as they continued going through the motions all the while.

As he explained himself, it occurred to the empath that she seemed to be learning more about the green shapeshifter in the last three days than she had during the last three years together on the team.

_"That's because you never really tried to get to know him,"_ her Knowledge pointed out inside her head.

It wasn't an accusatory remark or a condemnation in any way, but Raven couldn't shake the sudden feelings of guilt and remorse that caused her to suppress a shudder. Beast Boy seemed to pick up on her change of mood as the music ended. He brought the two of them to a halt as it did.

"What's wrong?" he asked, worry visible in his eyes. She quickly swallowed back down the lump in her throat before answering him.

"It's nothing. Don't worry, Beast Boy, you didn't mess up," she reassured him. He played the part of a fool well enough, but he could also be quite endearing, especially when he showed concern for others. And her.

And there was something else too, a thought that made a warm, unfamiliar feeling blossom in her chest.

There were many women at the ball, and Raven was used to being outshined by the lovely and captivating alien princess wherever the team went, but this boy who had his arms around her was focusing solely on her. He had asked her to this ball, he had gone out of his way for her, he wanted to dance with her, and his concerned and affectionate eyes were locked on her, alone. The empath would be lying if she said it didn't make her feel special.

The next song began a moment later, and through the movements in the crowd on the dance floor around them, their Tamaranean friend and her date had caught sight of what just transpired. Starfire smiled warmly as she looked back to Robin and resumed their slow dance, and he smirked, knowing what was on her mind.

"I never thought I'd say this, but those two really do look good together," he admitted.

"Indeed, I very much am doing the looking forward to my next talk of the girls with Friend Raven," the alien princess exclaimed, to which the former apprentice of the Bat chuckled slightly in good nature as they continued to move and sway together, their eyes locked firmly together.

None of the young heroes had any idea what they were in for the following day...

**A/N: Well, I hope you all got your fill of lightheartedness, because things are shifting into high gear for the rest of the story. After all, no superhero story would be complete without some high octane action and suspense, am I right? I intend to deliver on that, soon. Thank you as always to all of my readers as well as my beta, Wikked Grin. Be safe and well, everyone!**


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